Stuck Between a Rock and Another Place

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of catching a quick coffee with Linda and Craig Martin. Known for Indie Travel Podcast, this dynamic couple embodies the kind of adventurous spirit I’ve always wanted to unabashedly show, but have never had the courage to fully embrace.

I learned a lot about how Indie Travel Podcast started and Craig’s hair regiment and we laughed about families reactions to traveling, both wonderful and slightly off. Linda looked across the table and asked “What about you? What are you doing?” and for the very first time in my life, I didn’t have an exact response.

I was that annoying kindergartener wearing the Yale hoodie. I was accepted to a charter High School and worked my way into college by merit and scholarship. I opened “Letters to the Editor” at the very best internships New York publishing has to offer, and bought lunch for some amazing editors that I’m shocked would even spend time with me. I stepped right into a career and wore that label for a while. But it just didn’t stick.

I mustered up the courage to look this independent couple in the eye and with a little bit of shame, tell her that I had no idea what I was doing, but I was kind-of having fun figuring it out. And they both smiled and replied, “That’s fantastic.”

Now, there are likely two responses from you, the reader, to this situation.

• You’re a traveler and this is no big deal to you. Who doesn’t want to wander, right? Who cares if you ever figure something out!
• You’re a professional, a loving mother or wife, a shop owner, really anyone who doesn’t fit into category one, and you think I’m depressed, or I’ve lost my mind, or I’ve hit a rough patch and will figure it all out soon.

And the space between those two extremes, because, yes, those are both extreme views and there are a million views surrounding those, well, that space between is where I sit.

I feel most comfortable in an airport or on a train, connected with wifi, and gadgets, and a list of places to look up once I arrive. I yearn to continue to be a successful homeowner, and continue flourishing in content and community management. I love my current work and really do feel the love back in the form of blog comments, retweets, and Facebook likes. But, I also have an intense need to be someplace new constantly, so much so, that I’m completely known for running off on weekend jaunts with a day’s notice.

And so I lie here, gadgets in hands, loaded with maps and apps; Dropbox and Evernote, and struggle to find my place between the entrepreneurs and the nomads. That’s my equator and it’s the balance I struggle to figure out every day.

What’s your balance? What line do you draw and how did you come to it? What if you have no balance: Do you live for business or pleasure, and how do you make the choice?