Tuning Out the "Noise"

So, I've been going to a young adult's Bible Study-ish thing on Tuesdays. It's geared towards singles in their 20s and 30s and really does a good job targeting the age group and issues that we face. This past Tuesday, he talked about perseverance through trials as well as learning to tune out the "noise" of things that litter your life with excess worries that don't really matter.

He talked about how each person does 1 of 4 things in their daily life: 1. You live a good life. Period. 2. You don't care about what type of life you live, so it really doesn't matter. 3. You want to live a good life but are easily distracted by the noise of your life. 4. You don't really know what you want out of your life.

As soon as he mentioned being distracted by the world, I instantly realized that is completely my downfall. It's so hard not to get caught up in your job, social life, and as he put it "social ladder climbing." I'm not so much sure about the social-ladder-climbing, because I don't care about that. But for sure for my job consumes my every being as well as my social life. Making sure that I see and experience everything. It's so hard to say 'no' when you know that your friends are all together and you'd be the only one absent. However, this sometimes leads to late nights (which are always fun) that sometimes adversely effect other parts of my life that should come first.

I struggle with where to draw the line. The past 2 years I have been all-consumed by work. Many of you know that this lead to a near mental-breakdown when I felt like I had sold my soul, per say, to my job. I LOVE my job, which is why I do that, but I know that there has to be the happy medium. My life is not just about my job, or just about my friends. So, how do I figure out how I can be a great teacher, enjoy time with friends, and still have time for family and to focus on things that are important to me? It's a great balancing act, that's for sure.

My family was recently heart-broken to realize that we had lost a very close friend of our family. Our friend Austin, at 18 years old, couldn't tune out that noise that distracts you from living a happy, and healthy life; Austin took his own life on May 27. It hit so close to home. His family is our family. We have grown up with them and spend every holiday together. I know it won't seem real until he doesn't walk in the door at Thanksgiving this year, with his fur coat, and ever-present smile. I think the most immediate pain I felt was the empathy in knowing that, "that could have been my family." Someone in my own family struggles with mental illness and I went to bed with that fear every night. I pray that their family finds the strength to bask in his memory and know that he is in a better place.

Now, more than ever, it reminds me that I need to appreciate the small things, not let petty issues bother me, and just be content with the blessings I've been given.