24

On Friday I spent an entire 24 hours awake, fully and unquestionably alive. After a week of madness I am both surprised and amazed that my energy levels supported my body in keeping going. I woke to a 5.30am alarm and then headed to Manchester for a job. We were shooting all day. I then made my way to Leeds to catch Ella's band's first gig. I arrived just as they'd finished playing their set (time will rarely be on our side!) so I spent some time there and then went to York and straight out for a birthday/celebration of dissertation hand in night out. I didn't sleep until about 6am on Saturday morning. Of course on Saturday I attempted essay writing, I rushed around town like a mad woman on a mission to purchase my little sister a birthday gift and then we did some baking and had probably the most welcomed movie night of the entire year.

24 hours of being awake and alive... for me, it's a good thing. I always speak about how we seem to be constantly putting all our energy into chasing after time which is becoming increasingly more difficult to catch. As we grow older and life gets busier - full of commitments and people and work, the phrase 'I'm too busy' or 'there's no time', as much as I don't like to admit, it's likely that they are some of our best used phrases. On the other hand, we run a great risk if we fill too much of our time up and neglect the aspects of life that our 'head' puts at the bottom of the priority list but our 'heart' desperately needs in order to beat with a purpose. We run the risk of running through the motions as opposed to feeling alive while doing so.

Perhaps 24 hours is an extreme example. I think balance is always paramount in order to keep both our head and heart happy. Living in balance is something we strive to perfect and there is nothing more satisfying yet completely and utterly affirming, overwhelming and intriguing in the process of learning how to do so. It takes a lifetime to learn how to live. None of us really know. We are just learning from each other and learning from ourselves. But when it comes to the end and we face in absolute reality what comes next, maybe only then do we truly know what it means to be alive. I think the beauty lies in what we do with our time in-between.

And if that means filling an entire 24 hours with the things that matter... I'm happy with that.