Maintaining Balance

“Steady, steady, steady. Feet don’t fail me now. One in front of the other, C’mon we’re almost there. Just another 50 feet and we’re there. No, no, no, no, back off wind. You will not defeat me today. Not like you did last time. I am getting to that other side. You can do this. Yeah, baby yeah!”

Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to pay our respects to a brave, wonderful, courageous man. A man who on countless occasions stared fear straight to the ground. A man who would go to the greatest of lengths. No price was too high for him to pay in order to complete the mission, to meet his objective, even to include his very own life. And unfortunately, this last feat did that very thing. All who know Barry were well aware that he lived to be high up on the tight wire.

His life was truly exemplary, especially for the lot that cannot live without the proverbial rush of adrenal fluid charging through their mortal bodies. He leaves quite a legacy, not to mention a mound of trophies that strangely enough he requested in his will that they be distributed amongst those that attended this ceremony. So, for those of you who would like to honor Barry’s wishes, please form a single line here, to my right and accept this keepsake from this legendary man.

“I really loved Mr. Barry, Mom. I don’t mean to come off selfish when he is not even in the ground yet, but who will train me now? How will I ever find someone to teach me the ropes, no pun intended, like Coach did, Ma”? I’m so sorry sweetheart. He will be missed terribly. I will certainly miss his witty humor. After all, who will make me chuckle the way he did each time I dropped you off for tutelage?” “I was quite fond of Barry as you well know son”. “Mom, really quick, can you drop me off? I’m gonna head over to the park and shoot some hoops. I see Greg and Parker over there. Bye Mom”.

Finding the right balance in our lives oftentimes feels like we too, are walking on a slippery tightrope. We carefully place one foot in front of the other ever so stealth-fully absorbing the pressure from all sides. Whether it be from the result of a challenging relationship, the loss of a loved one, or too much month at the end of the money. It seems like a never-ending laundry list of things that come at us like a stampede of wildebeests. We do our very best to keep everything in perspective, yet so often we find ourselves battling anxiety, depression, loneliness, guilt and shame. The “gerbil wheel of life” as I’ve often heard it referred to as.

Let’s face it, with the myriad of self-help books that line popular bookstore shelves, podcasts, the ever increasing yellow pages of life coaches, YouTube videos, TM and a host of other soft and hardware at our fingertips, an honest gut check reveals rather quickly that it might just be easier to find chicken teeth then to get our lives in balance.

Nevertheless, let’s not ever give up the ghost in this arena. Let’s remain committed daily to drilling down and discovering a deep inner balance. I assure you that once happened upon, the tightropes inside are much wider and easier to manipulate. It will surely require effort, but as you begin to master the “internal ropes”, the “external ropes” seem to dissipate. Suddenly there is less randomity and fewer particles in motion.

Developing a life of calm, to me is essential because if you reside in the twenty-first century like me, you most likely have surmised that things are moving at a very high velocity all around us. I often feel like I live at the edge of a vortex. It’s no longer “keeping up with the Jones”, but it’s more like keeping up with the Jetsons.

What most of us baby boomers sat around and watched as kids is now reality in so many ways, and unless we are intentional in finding that place of peace and truly procuring balance in our lives we will tend to live our lives like “cats in a room full of rocking chairs.”