Finding balance

There is a lot of conversation these days about finding “balance.” The fine interplay between work and play is the subject of magazine articles and news stories. This has been the theme for me the last few weeks, for sure. Extremes are something I am trying to avoid these days.

I discovered in 2012 that adrenaline is not the best “drug” for my system. It leads to sleep deprivation, which, if I medicate it with caffeine or energy drinks begins a cycle that can leave me furious and confused. Throw in a little dose of high blood pressure and you have a recipe for disaster.

There are lots of ideas about what “I” can do about this problem. “Well, calm down, don’t get so excited.” I had two death threats in a two month period! It’s hard to take that kind of thing “caaaaaaaalmly.” Now, it is unlikely that the threats were serious, however, they seemed kind of real at the time. In other words, enough has happened to stimulate adrenaline production which is an uncontrollable response.

What I have done in the last period of time is cut way down on caffeine. I eliminated energy drinks. Driving down the road, listening to the radio at high volume, taking and making phone calls, occasionally looking at a text that has been sent on my way to the first of three appointments, is not a recipe for “balance.” So I have simplified, stopped overbooking and simply began to schedule less.

It is helping. The rest I place in the hands of God by praying the Lord’s Prayer every day and focusing on “thy will be done,” surrendering to the idea that God is at the helm of my ship, the steering wheel of the automobile of my life, and that in spite of all of my efforts, I am on a path that he is directing. For me, it brings some peace. And peace is what I am seeking for 2013.