One more for 2013

I'm not terribly fond of New Year's Eve. By the time Christmas has come and gone, it just feels like there have been enough things to mark another year passing. I've backslid a bit in my gym attendance the last three months of this year - and while I don't make New Year's resolutions, this year I feel a bit like those who do. I need to get back to my routine of going to the gym every day - and I've noticed that this time of the year is crowded with more people who start with good intentions at the gym and then things thin out quite a bit. Hell, I've thinned out these last few weeks. The fact of the matter is, I always feel better for having gone to the gym and it always carries into the rest of my day. So it's back at it today, even if I go lighter than I'm used to. Who wouldn't want to feel better?

I'm also not really a person who constantly says that the holiday season makes me eat more and indulge in food that isn't exactly good for me. I could say that I could do with a bit more fine tuning on the eating healthier, and that will pair nicely with the whole back to the gym thing.

I'll take stock in the multitude of things I have to be grateful for as this last day of 2013 winds down. I'm in pretty good health and shape for this stage of my journey, I get to work for, and with, people who are the best in the business and I'm fortunate to work two jobs that make being at work very enjoyable and flat out fun most of the time. I don't think that's anything to sneeze at.

I have amazing people in my life - my family, my friends and I'm very grateful for all of them.

More than anything else in closing out the year, I feel surrounded by things I love - and I'm not really talking about possessions, but rather things that are feeding and inspiring my creative soul. Ever hear the saying that we don't regret the things we did, but rather the things we didn't do? So I feel that I'm in the middle of a place of awareness that has made me realize that I should be paying much more attention to my creative soul than I ever have in the past. Maybe there are too many ways and things to pay that attention to, and that's okay - clarity will come and I don't need to worry about the things that may need weeded out, because they'll take care of themselves in due time.

So I'll close out the year 2013 by saying that I'm grateful, hopeful and optimistic about all this year has offered up, and I'm looking forward to 2014. My hope for all of the people who share this journey with me, is that you will know happiness, health and prosperity in this new year. May you take the time to notice and pay attention to the good, and may the bad not overwhelm you and make you lose sight of the good. Have a safe and happy New Year's everyone. That's enough rambling out of me. Peace!

The Holidays

This has been an odd holiday season - not quite as busy in my line of work as I'd like to be, as we'd like to be, but you take the good with the bad. The older I get on this journey, the more I dislike the mass marketing barrage that takes place in stores, and thanks to the advancements in technology, in my inbox. Why aren't the people who ring the bells on behalf of the Salvation Army, standing out front of stores all year long? To me, those in need don't have a busy season.

I hate being in stores for anything this time of the year. I hate the crap that's coming via email to influence my decisions to buy. All I want from the holidays is to get to see people that I don't see much of anymore - whether they're family or friends. That gets harder to do with each passing year, and harder to accept.

None of this is enhanced by the world of retail, and even less from the emails I get on a daily basis. While I don't want to mention Bed Bath & Beyond's name, every other day I get an email with either a 20% off coupon, or a reminder that the one I got an hour ago is still waiting. Here's a heads up Bed Bath & Beyond top brass: Send me an email that says I can add up the shit ton of 20% off offers you keep sending me in no less than two mediums for 100% off of any one item I choose - because then I guarantee you, my buying decision will be influenced. I'll get in my car and drive to the nearest Bed Bath & Beyond store faster than you can email me another 20% offer - oh wait, that's impossible...

The holidays will come and go in a blur, and like always, I'll think back to the days I was a kid in school and we got two weeks off of school. Those were the best holiday seasons of my life, because they were filled with family and even though my memories of those times is a bit foggy as an adult, I can't think of anything but wonderful time spent around family at Christmas time. As an adult, I drive away from Christmas dinner with my family, everyone heading off in different directions, and I'm a little sad that it's over and tomorrow it's right back to the grind. It's never gonna happen, but I really wish that as an adult I could stretch out two weeks of being off work, no obligations but to make the time to spend with the people who matter. Then my alarm clock goes off and the reality of so many people who matter to me being spread out all over the country and mostly just getting to share a kind thought on the blue and white sets in.

I tend to think that the real excitement of Christmas is for children. As an adult, I love the memories I have of holiday seasons as a child - but now I've come to treasure moments of appreciating the people who make my journey as wonderful as it is. The longer my journey continues, the more I see the importance of carrying that with me throughout the year. This holiday season is filled with difficulty for some I know - people facing uncertainty of illness, some marking anniversary with heartbreaking loss that I can't even fathom, and some other things that aren't welcome any time of the year. So this holiday season, I'll wish health and happiness for all - and peace. We're all in this together. Happy holidays.