It's the end of the year as we know it
I don't feel like doing the month by month thing right now. I may in a few weeks, but right now it just seems silly and self indulgent.
Instead I would like to take a moment to ask everyone to not make a New Years resolution.
Don't do it. Don't pick now, a fairly arbitrary time to make a major change that is apparently not something you would do otherwise. Don't naval gaze and contemplate how to improve yourself toward some greater end.
Instead, take a moment to realize how fortunate you are. During the time of the year when depression is at it's highest, is kicking yourself in the ass really the best idea? Why not consider the fact that you have food, shelter, internet access, etc...and go ahead and pat yourself on the back for that.
Why not take a moment to realize we have electricity, indoor plumbing, paved roads, radar that can tell us the future in terms of weather...and just say "cool".
Take a moment to be happy with who you are, where you are. Is it what you want? Fuck no. But is it better than the richest person in the world 200 years ago? And before you say "Harem" I say "Pre-deodorant"
I was watching Chappelle on Inside the Actors studio last night, a surreal experience for all involved, and he was talking about how in order to be successful in Hollywood, you have to be a strong person. You don't achieve there without being a strong person. Yet so many of those people go batshit insane. Perhaps, he said, the environment is just poisonous. Hence, saying fuck it and going to Africa.
I am a judgmental son of a bitch. I am not resolving to change, I am who I am. My only defense is to say I turn that lens on myself more than I do anyone else, and find more lack there than I could even see in anyone else. Familiarity and all that. But, I find I am happy when I stop and realize how lucky I am in the moment. So I try to do that more.
There are many, many things going wrong I could dwell on, both in the world at large and in my family and the people around me. Life is not a journey without challenges. But you aren't going to get a gold star when you die. You are just going to be dead.
So stop resolving to be great and start, to quote Chappelle again, checking your intentions. Are your needs met? Are you meeting the needs of those you love? Are you leaving the world better than you found it? Do you make people happy?
Great. Than quit your bitching and smile about it, motherfucker.