The older that i get the more i realize that life for me seems to be about the word balance. As an average guy with lots of hobbies, a job, girlfriend and a reasonably close family, it seems that trying to make everything fit into one harmonious flow, is a tad bit difficult. Back in a more idealic part of my life, it was pretty easy to just have a girlfriend and the rest was a tad bit irrelevant. Now that i have decided to take my relationship extremely slow, i have found it to be a godsend to use that pace as a way to better my life as a whole. I have time to fulfill aspirations such as being a good brother, getting into good shape, keeping my mind sharp and trying to better my professional situation. The question then becomes if this current predicament is extremely beneficial to my sanity, how will big steps like marriage and children do to my psyche.
As my 30th birthday comes up, i am pretty surprised about people my own age and how they live their lives. When i was a 18 years old, i always thought a 30-year old guy was an adult with huge responsibilities, as their life would be immersed in major institutions. A mortgage, wife, children, career and maybe a relationship with god would be the lifeblood of the average american 30 year old guy. I do believe that in this era of "Generation Me", it is becoming more apparent that adults my age are taking longer times in order to make sure situations are perfect before settling down. Our grandparents generation were the worker bees and foundation of this modern society, as far as immigrant work ethic and conservative institutions were concerned. My parents generation challenged some of their parents principles, in order to make sure that society recognizes the individuals rights to equality and freedom of thought. This generation on the other hand seems to definitely be more spoiled in that regards, because as they were surviving to make their families secure, we have pretty much the freedom to do whatever we want.
Finding balance i think is a proper way of keeping yourself from getting to attached to one philosophy or concept. I have found that more passionate we are about something, it is harder to keep your mind objective. I have been told that my centralist way of thinking is extrememly boring. One of my pet peeves is to remain neutral and open minded and that can frustrate people, with a more black and white sense of structure. I admire the one-sided mentality for their passion, but my life's quest is to absorb information and learn new perspectives and it is impossible to learn new things when you shut your mind off to one side of the argument. I really enjoy arguing from one side, but even I admit that when i am not passionalte behind an argument, being a devils advocate is a little difficult. So in summation, i am surprised that as a thirty year old i still have no concept of what is an adult, but i think by trying to find a sense of balance in your life, it will be more fulfilling and less complicated.
