No New Year's Resolutions For Me

Brrrr! It's another very cold morning with temperatures in the teens. There's a very light dusting of snow. I could feel my beard freezing as I walked into the office. It's good to be in my warm little cubicle home.

I received several emails wanting to know the answer to Chloe's question, "Where do elephants pee"? The answer is "anywhere they want". You can probably guess for yourself what her follow up question was.

Here's a New Year's thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us".

It is a new year, the 57th of my life. Even though this time of year is a time when people traditionally make New Year's resolutions, I have quit doing that. Many years of sometimes painfully acquired self knowledge have taught me I will never exercise enough, loose enough weight, pray enough, or be more assertive. As I have said before, I am a crock pot in a pressure cooker world. I will never be an ambitious overachiever. I'm not perfect but I believe I am a pretty good person that way I am. I have also learned I will never please everyone or meet their expectations of me. Too often the success of goals we set for ourselves are measured against the achievements or expectations of others. I am no longer making judgements about myself in comparison with other people. My daily goal for as long as I live is to be truer to myself and who I am. Some day I may actually find my true self. As the saying goes, "God doesn't make any junk". I am not as great as some people or as bad as others. At this point in my life I probably look like I am supposed to look. I must admit that I am feeling my age and the signs of growing older are becoming more and more evident. My body will never feel or perform like I am twenty five again. I will, however, do the best I can to keep the old body running as efficiently as possible. I am a little forgetful and sometimes I space out a bit but in many ways I am smarter than I have ever been though probably not as smart as a ten year old. It recently took me three tries to figure out a mathematical brain teaser. Maybe I am not smarter, just wiser. If you haven't acquired some sense by my age, you've wasted much of your life. I am grateful to still be young at heart and still able to appreciate rock and roll music. I will try not to miss opportunities to live because my chair feels too comfortable. I will try to break out of my dysfunctional tendencies and obsessive patterns. If I fail or fall down, I will get up and try again. I will accept and appreciate who and what I am and not worry about who and what I am not. I will not beat myself up for not being perfect. I will continue trying to live in the moment and appreciating everything in life. Occasionally, I will retreat into solitude and let the world spin a day or two without me. I guess all this does sounds like I am making resolutions but the difference is that I won't be keeping track of my failures and I'll spend more time celebrating life!