A Year of News

So it's been a few months. I picked up a second job over the holidays, but I haven't gotten any hours there in the last few weeks. So I'm essentially back to just the one job at the radio station. A new president is in the White House, and one that I elected and actually believe will do something positive for the country. A college friend is getting deployed to Iraq, and my cousin is being re-deployed. So many changes, and yet nothing changes. The clock of time keeps ticking, and the river of life keeps flowing.

The last two lines there really kind of sum up my general feeling of late. Despite what sometimes are the best of intentions, I seem to keep ending up right where I started with relatively little change. Then again, perhaps that is taking too narrow of a perspective. What might be required is nothing more than stepping back further and looking at life's progression over a course of years instead of months.

I have--more or less--made a few unofficial resolutions for the year. Although, of course, by labelling them as such I have probably doomed them to complete and utter failure. But I certainly hope not.

One thing I've noticed about myself is that I am very much more of a thinker than I am a do-er. I will gladly spend a great many hours and even days contemplating something, but then I become reluctant when it comes to actually doing it. Whereas the thinking comes freely, the actual act requires motivation. In the same vein, I seem to be rather spotty with actually finishing things I start, for one reason or another. I realized this the other night when I looked at my not-so-small video game collection and realized how few of them I had actually beaten. But this applies to a number of other endeavors and pastimes of mine, from reading to writing and more. So one thing I will wholeheartedly be working on this year is [completely] finishing things I start, and wrapping up loose ends with things I started in years previously.

The other troubling thing that has come to my attention is that I do not practice my faith as much as I used to. I quietly observe days when previously I took the time out of my day for a short ceremony and meditation. And I certainly do not meditate with any real frequency anymore. I note this because I would not claim to be as cheerful or happy as I was even a few years ago when I still practiced a little bit. So my other goal this year is to resume practicing my faith in the calm, unobtrusive way that I once did.