Balance. One of those words you know is good for you, but you never get around to doing it, right? It's like that workout plan you promised yourself on New Year's. The diet that didn't last. The fancy water bottle you bought that tracks how much you should be drinking, but in the end, it's another 20 wasted bucks. Oh, I'll have more balance in my life tomorrow. Then tomorrow turns into a few more days. Months. Years. Whoa. You're in your mid-twenties, freaking out.

Where did the balance go?

Sigh.

That's what I faced on my 26th birthday. All of a sudden, I was looking back at the past few years, wondering where did my life go? I couldn't rein it in anymore. It was a wild child, doing as it pleased. I couldn't control it. My life was a two-year-old that threw temper tantrums in the store aisle. It was the New York subway that zoomed by, and every time I wanted to hop on, I either missed it, or couldn't muster up the strength to get on. Because I wasn't sure about it. I wasn't sure about where I was going.

Ok, I'm busy. I'm exhausted. I'm mentally drained. This is just how life is supposed to be, right?

Wrong.

Hiking was the balance in my life. Hiking was the wake-up call. It still is.

No matter how tired, moody, sore, and depressed I was, I forced myself to hike. I needed to get out of my sloppy way of thinking, and sit in silence. A little bit of fresh air. Ahhhhhhh. Yes, I'll have a refill of simplicity. I will indulge in a cup of nature. I will rest in the unknown.

You see, life is busy. But it shouldn't be controlling.

Every time I hiked, a little voice (maybe it was Jiminy Cricket) telling me, "You need this. Balance."

I love that word.

It's funny they call nature, "Mother Nature". Your mom always knows what's best for you. She's always there when you're at your rock bottom. Hiking is the gentle reminder that there is more to life, than this.

Whenever I hike in God's creation, I know that there's more to life than my problems, struggles, the busyness of my schedule, and putting myself last while trying to be successful.

Hiking is my reality check. And I cash it in.

I look at the desert plants blooming. The birds cheerfully singing, not worried about tomorrow. The sun still shines. Trees growing strong. The mountains of Red Rock Canyon sit proudly in my view. I follow a different path. I keep on going.

All a reminder that there is more to life than this. Slow down. Breathe. Balance.