Saturday, December 30, 2017

Show #293

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Well here we are at the eve of New Years Eve. 2017 is coming to an end and giving way to 2018. The last few years I’ve had a quiet New Years Eve at my tiny little coast house. I know I’ve missed some fun parties back in Fresno with my friends but I’ve also appreciated the quiet, calmness of Cambria. No one indiscriminately fires off guns in Cambria. There are no sobriety checkpoints. There are no fireworks. By all standards it probably seems really dull to most.

To me, New Years at the coast is a celebration of the soul. It’s a time to take account and prepare to close the books on the year that is ending. As I’ve grown older I’ve been keenly aware of the miles as they click by on the odometer of life. When I look back at the miles travelled this year it’s easy to recall the pain, struggle, loss and stress. It takes effort for me to dwell on the high points.

I still haven’t grown enough mentally to rectify the imbalance. Any clear thinking person would easily recognize the folly of amplifying the failures while neglecting all the effort that went into the successes. Why is it “human nature” for many of us to be so critical of ourselves? This time of year even has a ritual that reinforces that “human nature”, resolutions. Some people make resolutions while other swear against making them but all of us think about them.

The litanies of improvements needed for satisfaction are wide and varied and many times reintroduced each year. It’s amazing anyone survives the harsh realities of the self-assessment process. I’m too fat! I don’t read enough! I don’t get out enough! I need to spend more time around the house! I need to clean the garage. I need to be a better friend to my family and friends and be there for them. I need to get my ass in gear! Why is it that “human nature” makes this list so easy to generate?

The obvious answer is indulgence, I think (I guess I’m not sure). This is a time when we become aware what we’ve done with our time. I love imagining what it the antithesis of this “human nature” might be like. I’m going to give myself a break more often. I’m going to be more spontaneous. I’m taking more time for myself. I’m setting aside time specifically designed for doing nothing. I’m going to learn how to relax. I’m going to spend as much time discovering what makes me happy as I do trying to fix the myriad of maladies that vex me! It just sounds wrong doesn’t it?

The whole thing reminds me of the movie “Office Space”. The main character is stuck in a malaise across several aspects of his life, specifically work and love life. At one point the main character agrees to attend a hypnosis session with his girlfriend. Under hypnosis, the main character is prompted to not let anything bother him when demands are made of him and further that he should enjoy himself. Before he could be brought out of the trance the therapist dies from a heart attack leaving the main character stuck in his hypnotic suggestion. The change is truly refreshing to observe! Makes you want to say, “Damn! I wish I could do that!”

This coming year will bring plenty of hurdles and highlights, just every other year. There’ll be times when you’re going to need somebody to pick you up and times you’ll need to do it for someone else. How are you going to do that if you don’t make time for others? If you rigidly followed your resolutions you’ll find that you’ll spend more time recognizing that there are people thinner, richer, more successful, smarter, faster, kinder, and more talented; than you will recognizing all the progress you’ve made. All you can see is where you need to go, not where you’ve been.

You may not face these issues. You may be well adjusted. You may have a handle on mental toughness. You may have all the answers (if not I know people that do)! The “Original Liar’s Paradox” (you’ll have to Google that) best describes what inevitably follows; “I’m always right!” That statement is an indictment of imbalance! If I’m going to make any kind of resolution it would be to seek more balance, more harmony for myself, and anyone I connect with. Yin and Yang baby!

Peace and Love to you all! Let’s all work together to make this next year one that we will cherish!


Mike

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