left overs from last week
So very much to do! This semester is looking very, very full. I like the flash-bang of a new year; the excitement of starting over, beginning fresh and new. But I know it's just glitz. New Year's resolutions usually aren't worth much more than decoration tinsel.
But I like looking forward and glancing back. Self-help gurus seem to be a modern-equivalent of the snake-oil sellers from my grandmothers' day. Their writings and preachings are possibly more dangerous. The answers to the important questions seem to be more complicated, and require conscious deliberation, not fast and happy sound bytes. Living deliberately is hard work! But even a snake-oil salesmen can get lucky now and again. One of them, and I can't remember which one, said something that got stuck in my mind: that people spend more time planning their two-week vacation than they do their lives. I'm not sure if that is true, but it offers a quick, easy example of why I like New Year's Resolutions. For a couple days a year most people feel a twinge of obligation to examine their place in the universe; considering where they are, where they have been, and where they want to go. I'm not sure if these are pleasant thoughts for most people, and quite possibly one of the many reasons the holidays can leave people feeling squished.
For me, I find such reflection, if done properly, extremely valuable. Fun? Not usually, but like fasting or sitting in a well scrubbed room, very satisfying when the effort has been exerted. Possibly how a colonic feels-- a few days latter it's probably great, but while it is actually happening I can't imagine the procedure being one of merriment and joy. Taking stock of the overwhelming information involved in a life is most likely as peculiar a sensation. I'm not sure either human colons or brains have quite adapted yet to living almost a century. It only sort of makes sense that cleansing and reorganizing either organ is necessary to promote optimal functioning, but not necessarily a comfortable experience.
It is important not to over stress the whole system with too many invasive procedures. I'm sure everyone would agree that my brain is the more flawed organ, and should be given more attention. Alas, my poor colon will somehow have to survive without any special attention. Instead, I try to spend more effort on the cranial-equivalent of a thorough cleaning (No, not a lobotomy. Maybe one of these days I will clean that thoroughly, but not today) by breaking my year down into four quarters.
January 1st through April 1st is going extremely well. There is a lot to juggle right now. Three of my electives are moving right along, but I'm not sure what to do about the third. It's been a struggle for quite sometime. The big endeavor for this quarter is consistency. I have a nice little schedule worked out, now I want to spend the next few months practicing it. My ontological activity will need some work (pesky soul, why I bother I really don't know), but the structure of those projects is pretty straight forward. My P.E. Requirement is easy and will help practice the greater theme of consistency-- I need to keep pedaling, working on the splits, and push ups. And I need to keep working on last years primary goal: the problem of instant gratification. Probably the colonic (or the lobotomy) would be more useful than these other exercises, but I can always set up the appointment for the first day of next quarter. For now, let's see how this stuff goes
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