Reflection

Note To The Reader:
This is a moment of perfect reflection. You, as the reader, and I as the writer...please read carefully. If you are about to read this, sit down and read with the UTMOST intention of reading each word, and finishing. This is not just a blog for me, as most of my blogs are. This blog is for you too, whoever you may be. You may need this, as I do.




CLOSE YOUR EYES.

I want you to think to yourself, in a moment of perfect reflection, of this last year. 2009, from New Years last year, till this very moment. Think as deeply and detailed as your psyche lets you. Think of each individual month and event that comes to mind...remember them and relive them behind your eyes. Do you see? Do you hear? Do you taste? Do you smell? Do you touch? Do you feel? Think of each conceivable moment that has brought you to this one...sitting in front of your computer screen, reflecting. Close your eyes and remember it for yourself. Now.


Open your eyes...


Now...that you have reflected on 2009, please take into consideration that in less that 7 hours, it will be the start of a new decade. TEN years have passed since the turn of the century...and we now embark on another ten. I now want you to reflect on the last 10 years. Each individual year and all that it held. Your love, your pain, your good times, your dark times, your friends, and family. Remember it all to the best of your recollection. 2000 with Y2K, 2001 with 9/11, 2002 with the complete economic crash, 2003 with SS Columbia, Mission STS-107, disintegrates in the atmosphere upon re-entry, 2004 with the Indian Ocean Tsunami - The deadliest tsunami in history, 2005 with Hurricane Katrina, 2006 with Saddam Hussein captured, convinced, and hung, 2007 with the U.S. "Surge" of 30,000 troops into Iraq, 2008 with Information Overload, and 2009...well, you all know what happened in 2009. With all this into consideration to spark your memory, reflect on your own personal experiences...from 2000 to this very moment. Close your eyes and remember for yourself. Now.




Open your eyes...


Judging by POPULAR opinion, I believe I can speak for all of us when I say that 2009 has by far been the WORST year in most of our lives. Those of you who had great 2009's, good for you, I am glad it was so wonderful...you were luckier then the rest of us. As far as popular opinion goes...just know that you are not alone. We have suffered this together . We all, unified, look upon these last few hours and we reflect to ourselves. We look upon these next few hours and we PARTY. We have a GOOD time, doing whatever we are doing, where ever we are, because we want to end a terrible year with a good memory. We look forward. 2010 is literally on the brink of experience, just nearly in our grasp. DO NOT think that it is too late for anything. This is a blog of reflection, and encouragement. I have been through more shit this year than any other year of my life, and I have lost more THIS year than any other year of my life. I have lost sight, truth, success, love, LOTS of money, inspiration, optimism, friends, loved ones, and myself. For a couple months now, I have mourned the loss of all of the above, not necessarily in that order, but tonight and to come, I am HOPEFUL that I can find all of these things. Not hopeful...but positive. Nothing is so out of sight that it is unattainable. Everything in life MAY be temporary, but it does not have to be lost. In hindsight, I regret...but I would not take back a thing. For, even the regret and the loss itself has shown me that tomorrow holds BIGGER things. Things bigger and better than all of my losses combined into one sunken treasure. In poetic measure, I approach closure. In conclusion...DO NOT STOP MOVING. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that even if you stop moving, the world doesn't...so you will just end up being left behind. You do not want to be left behind. I have been lucky enough to catch up to the worlds quick and merciless pace. Rascal Flatts once said, "Sometimes it feels like this world is spinning faster than it did in the old days, so naturally, we have more natural disasters from the strain of a fast pace. Sunday was a day of rest, now it's one more day progress - I miss Mayberry, sitting on the porch drinking ice cold cherry coke, when everything was black and white. Picking on a 6 string, when people pass by and you call them by their first name, watching the clouds to by, bye bye". He could not have said it any better that he did. This year was a year of REST and LEARNING and DISASTER. It is time to take this disaster, and convert into lessons. Which roads we will never embark on again, which roads we will continue to ride, and which new roads we will decide to venture. I say goodbye 2009, I will never see you again, and I will not miss you. Hello 2010...I pray I can make you everything that the previous wasn't. But, isn't that the typical thinking process of life? ;)



For an epigraph...


Close your eyes...


Think of 2010. What do you want from it? What do you wish of it? More importantly, what will you make it? REMEMBER a few simple things before you go...it is NEVER too late to LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY, and it is NEVER too late to do SOMETHING GREAT. Love, in all of its aspects, can be liberating and confining. Long lasting love must be without conditions. It must allow room for growth. For expression. For freedom. For mistakes. For forgiveness. Unconditional love has NO limits. Shakespeare once said, "Love sought is good, but given unsought is better". Never underestimate your potential or discount your ability. Most great achievements are based on perseverance. Believe in yourself. Persist. When others give in, keep going. When you falter, have faith, and surge ahead. Shakespeare once said, "Be not afraid of greatness". Take this with you into the new year. Take this with you into the new decade, and NEVER forget it until your dying day. An old friend of mine once told me this...and made me remember it. Take a moment and reflect on the future. Imagine yourself...looking into a mirror, and seeing yourself next year. See yourself in 2020, ten years. See yourself in each moment and aspect of it. Visualize it, and receive it. We (most of us) are journeying into the 3rd stage of our life. 20 - 30. Life is passing us by my friends...so live it while you can. Make every MINUTE count. Star-ship Enterprise would tell us, live long and prosper. I wish this on each of you, as well as myself. The future is a blank slate. Close your eyes and imagine it for yourself. Now.


Open your eyes...


What's Next?