Party your life

I want to try to recapture part of what I missed when Cinco de Mayo passed me by uncelebrated, because to enjoy life truly, you need to party your life.

Last week, I had the choice to focus on Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, or both.  I chose Mother’s Day because I felt compelled to do so.  Yet events since then have led me to circle back and revisit my choice.

For one, Cinco de Mayo this year came and went.  I planned to feast on enchiladas or hold Taco Thursday to celebrate.  But I’m also at the end of the semester, with deadlines for major pre-exam assignments in my face and finals not far behind.  I was so busy working I totally spaced celebrating the holiday.

And that got me thinking.  Am I so busy working that I forget to play or, in the words of the late Stephen Covey, sharpen the saw?  Covey once taught the importance of regular renewal by asking the question “Are you too busy driving to stop for gas?”  We all need regular rejuvenation so we can recharge and then return to work more effectively.

I then took that thinking a step further.  What quality does my life really have if I’m too busy to enjoy it?  That’s why I want to circle back today.  I want to try to recapture part of what I missed when Cinco de Mayo passed me by uncelebrated, because to enjoy life truly, you need to party your life.

Celebrate every day

We’d all agree anything taken to excess is bad and occasional recreation is good.  But what is recreation?  I mean, what is it really?

If we examine the word, we find the prefix re-, meaning again, followed by creation.  So literally recreation means creating again.  And what are we creating again if not ourselves?  Yes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a dull girl, but true recreation is not simply play.  True recreation leaves us renewed, rejuvenated, and ready to tackle anew the challenges before us.

That doesn’t happen with just an occasional respite from our labors.  The Sabbath provides that every week, and although I’ve certainly experienced a greater quality of life as I’ve honored the Sabbath, something’s missing.  Yes, hard times come to everyone, but shouldn’t there be a general feeling of enjoyment in life?  If I’m doing it right, shouldn’t I feel every day is worth celebrating?

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Lighten your load

That’s where the idea to party your life takes center stage.  That’s doesn’t mean all play and no work.  Work is essential to self-esteem, but, as I just said, all work and no play makes us dull.  There’s a sweet spot in the middle where we have a sense of balance.

That equilibrium point is, I believe, the party pad, the place where we enjoy the highest quality of life because that point is where we most feel to celebrate our life every day.  The key, then, to party your life is balance.  And I think that balance comes not only from what we do but how we approach what we do.

For example, if you’re being pulled in too many directions, your life won’t feel balanced.  How can it when you’ve got so much competing for your limited time?  But you get the same result from approaching life with too much emphasis on any one element.  By concerning yourself so much with one element, you can’t effectively work on anything else.

The simple answer is to simplify.  If you’re too busy to smell the roses along your journey, drop what you can so you can.  Likewise, if you’re so focused excessively on one element, drop the excess baggage and lighten your load.

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Come to Him

For many, that’s easier said than done.  You can have so much of importance it feels like you can’t drop anything.  And it’s not like you quit worrying about some concern just by flipping a switch, especially if holding onto that concern has become habitual.

If the key is balance, then the key to getting and staying there is your relationship with the Lord.  He can help you see the way to balance because He is the way.  Through His Spirit, He can teach you what you need to do.  By coming to Him, He can carry your burdens and lighten your load.  He can help you find and stay at that equilibrium point where you can most feel to celebrate your life, because it will be the life He has given you.

So party your life.  Let God prevail and recreate you into more than what you could become without Him.  When you do, you’ll better find the balance you need to party your life.  In that space, you’ll not just feel better but be better.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

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