Routine defines adulthood. We rise each morning and ready ourselves for work that never fully satisfies. Then, we walk out the door facing demanding jobs and schedules that rarely surprise us. Life in the office or on the job site offers little to measure ourselves against, beyond the success of others. Our social calendars are often where we can find the most authentic versions of ourselves. Even these moments can feel like boxes to be checked.  

Expectations settle us into a routine. Society and our economy have conditioned us to spend most of our lives at work. Play is secondary. Anything meant to test or a genuine opportunity to grow, we place in boxes marked “chaos.” Chaos disturbs the routine. Nothing must disturb the routine. We can only satiate the gluttony of responsibilities with routine. To veer from this course might mean a characterization few adults would wear with pride. Irresponsibility has no place here.  

Stepping back from the work I find valuable and mindful of what brings me joy, I ask a deeply personal question. If you have stumbled upon this little corner of the internet in search of some inspiration, I am hoping the same will be true for you. How am I measuring this life? Digging deeper, another question rises to the surface. What am I doing to position myself in unforeseen places that can transform me significantly?  

I do not want to be a product of routine. I have written these words before, but it bears repeating. I wholeheartedly reject the tyranny of the expected. For me, there is no growth there and where growth does not exist, a life well lived shows no signs of possibility.  

Despite my attempts to avoid the expected, I still live a routine life. At 6 AM, my alarm clock interrupts the silence. Shocked back into the world, I prepare for my day in the same way. I drive to work the same way. Variations of familiar projects meet me at the office. I return home to find some joy in my hobbies. I make dinner, watch television, lay down for the night, and drift off to sleep, hoping the next day will be different.  

On my calendar, inside the context of a well-crafted schedule, I place opportunities to defy routine. Yet even these moments seem too planned to offer radical outcomes. I need more than vacations in far-flung lands to measure the value of a life well lived.  

These sorts of experiences are not foreign to me. They met me in moves from Oklahoma to Seattle, Seattle to Los Angeles, and from Los Angeles back to Seattle again. I found them on first dates. I held them at the beginning of the Pacific Crest Trail and chased them down the Colorado Trail. In smaller ways, they were new hobbies, new clubs, and new people. Like attempting to hold sunlight in the palms of my hands, they escaped. They were fleeting moments that gave way to routine. I wish they would stick around a little longer.  

Knowing this can never be the case, measuring again becomes its own pursuit. It becomes something to dedicate my time and talents. Placing myself in unfamiliar locations and settings becomes a chance to rewrite the script and experience life in new ways. If one can stay dedicated to this idea, I wholeheartedly believe they will measure their lives a success. In the end, this is all I want. It is also everything I want for you.  

Be good to each other,  

Nathan