Balance, Rhythm, & Rule

I remember sitting in the auditorium paralyzed with fear. No, I didn't get called out for being on my phone during a lecture. No, I hadn't wet my pants. I simply did the math. The speaker outlined a comprehensive breakdown of the time required for all classes, reading, writing, eating, sleeping, & extracurricular activities during our freshman year. In sum, I needed to cram 31 hours into a 24 hour day to survive. The only advice he gave was to, "Find a good balance," whatever that means.

I also remember an abiding moment of hope. That spring semester, having trudged through a Fall with little-to-no balance, a dear professor confessed, "I've never found balance in my life. I don't really think balance is helpful, actually. What are you supposed to do? Keep the plates spinning till one of them falls? That doesn't sound like real life. I think finding rhythm is more important than balance."

In a demanding world, the ideal of balance offers a helpful goal. You must make choices for what you give your time to. It requires saying 'no' a lot. It also evokes the image of spinning plates or scales laden with job, family, friends, & rest. Balance concerns amounts. The amount of tasks must remain less-than or equal-to the amount of time in your day. For balance, you rely on the math. You follow the plan. But for most of us, the math is never in your favor. The first sacrifices we make tend to fall on times of rest, which creates a big problem. In my experience, a life devoted to balance may lead to a life devoid of space. Space to be interrupted. Space to be inconvenienced. Space to listen. When I think of the life of Balance, I think of Leslie Knope.

So, what does a paradigm of rhythm offer that balance does not? I must first confess how little natural rhythm I have. Even as a guitarist, every ounce of rhythm I have was fought for tooth-and-nail. But what I see in rhythm is what I also hope to find in my life. If you look at sheet music, you see notes stretched & spaced within measures. There is a set meter & time signature, like 4/4 which means four equal beats each measure. Composers & song-writers express unique ways to fill the measures, some including drawn out whole notes which span an entire measure, some with staccato quarter notes crisply pecking along. Rhythm deals in beats & rests, rigid structure & floating melody. You will hopefully never find a composer saying, "We need to include 8 'G' major chords, 4 diminished sevenths, and 16 'E' minor chords if we're going to have a successful song."

Rhythm is not just about math, but it is often mathematical. It is not only balance, though the best compositions strike a beautiful balance & symmetry. Where balance may concern the proportioned filling of time, rhythm listens to the requirements of the day. Some days require a quick tempo with little rest between the beats. Some days are speed metal; some days are Jack Johnson. One evening may be Frank Sinatra, another might become Kendrick Lamar. In short, rhythm concerns all that is beautiful about music: it seeks to use space to say something important with the time, not just fill it.

To be clear, you & I ought not be called foolish to strive for balance in life. It is vital to prioritize your time for what is most important. But we will always strive for balance. We attempt to conform our life to it. With rhythm, we participate in the song. You tap your foot. You catch the melody. It puts your time in context. During my college years, my time felt like a ragtime jig spinning out of control. Married life adopts the slower, steady tempo of a cross-country road trip playlist. In balance, we tend to make time work for us. In rhythm, we intend our time to say something important like only a song can say. So, what does your time say about you?

Today, I was confirmed in the Anglican church. In the life of an Anglican, confirmation is a sacrament where one confesses the teachings of Christ & the Church, all to be commissioned to live as a faithful follower with the blessing of the Church. Part of the confirmation process includes establishing a rule of life. A rule of life is a rhythm of devotional discipline where I lay open & lift up space to God, such as time in prayer, fasting, community, service, & silence. A rule of life ought not attempt to take control of your time & life. Rather, it invites a rhythm for the ways you are releasing space to God to do His work in your time & life. Ultimately, a rule of life sets a rhythm & melody of the Gospel in my everyday life. It puts the idea of self-sufficiency to death.

In sum, I do not mean to divorce balance & rhythm. You & I desperately need both at work in our lives. Yet I am inclined to see the danger in striving for balance, attempting to take control of your time to work for you. I find hope & rest participating in rhythm, listening to the needs of the day & consecrating space for what I don't even know I need yet. I pray my days speak towards things that truly matter. I pray I never only utilize time as a resource, but participate in it as a sacred gift. For me, I invite a rule of life as my rhythm, a song naked before God's grace.