I believe in the trinity. Well, THAT trinity too. but that’s not what I’m talking about right now. I believe in mind, body, and soul–keeping all those parts of a person in check to reach a life balance.

Admittedly, reading that thought on the page seems very new-age and Zen. Eh, I don’t know whether that’s the case in reality but I know that people with incredible hustle (like Russell Simmons) believe the same thing. (Except it sounds better coming from Russell.)

My life lately is an example of what happens when it gets completely out of wack because you didn’t try to balance the trinity.

My work life has overwhelmed me. Working more than 10 hours a day over several days (really weeks but who’s counting?) has made me focus on things that aren’t my goal–becoming the best storyteller I possibly can. As a result, the body part of the equation was out of whack. Eating like I was back in college is not good. It’s the opposite of good, totally bad and not in a Michael Jackson-video-street-gang way.

I’ve been down this road before and it’s lead to some serious health problems and well as extreme unhappiness. I can’t go there again, most especially if it’s not toward my goal.

So imagine my pleasure when I went to Mass today and the priest told the story about monkies and oranges.

Here’s the quick summary:

A man made his living selling monkies. He was superb at his job because he found the monkey’s Achilles heel–oranges.

The man would carve out coconuts and place a fresh orange in them and hanging them back up in the trees. When the curious monkies would come closer they would try to get the oranges. When that happened, the man would throw his net up to capture them.

Moral: If they would have let go of the oranges, the monkies would be free.

Sometimes we get caught up in things are that not good for us and are not part of the goal. We lose track and veer off the course. Things become complicated and the ultimate goal is never achieved.

To fix that we need to let go of the oranges, no matter what that maybe. Easier said than done? Of course but it’s part of the experience, part of what makes accomplishing the goal that much sweeter.

When I decided to start this blog about a year ago, it was to chronicle my path toward finding myself.  I knew it was going to be difficult. Learning who I really am and getting to know me through writing and literature is the journey of a lifetime. There is no short cut for this but there are detours and meandering roads that will steer you the wrong way. Part of my journey is learning from those detours and to come back to the right path smarter and tougher.

I’m pedaling as fast as I can toward the right direction. I don’t know what I’ve learned yet from this detour but when I find out it’s only going to make me a better storyteller.

And isn’t that the goal?