This is my time of year to again post my resolutions and goals for the coming year. I realize that resolutions are kind of quaint, nice and all but really like an old tradition we do because well it's traditional.
As lame as it is there are good reasons to carry this holiday ceremony on. First of course is that most people , even me can use improvement. My list is always chocked full things in my life I need improvement on, usually with a more and less tacked on. I.E. eat less junk exercise more. This is something the improving man can check daily and usually see the difference in them self.
We already know that the coming years are going to require us to be in the best physical shape possible, including my goal to be in the best shape of my life. For everything that will be thrown at us will require peak mental and physical abilities.
So this is a good time to asses our health goals. I know yes step on a scale, and yuk for me look in the mirror. Then test your breathing, first mentally, ask yourself how far you could run if you HAD to. Because I don't know you, yet I cant throw out a good exercise plan but I think a really good test is can you touch your toes? As simple as it is I think this a good line to start at. Easy to grade, because if you can you win. The beauty of the toe test is you can grade it rather easy , If you can lay your palms flat on the floor , with the knees slightly bent that's an A. If you cant see you toes that's an F.
Whatever you grade your physicality at I think it would be a great time to intensify and increase your health training. If I may,besides walking I think it is important to do something you really enjoy doing that requires exercise.
As a general rule I think at least once a day you should do a heart and lung elevation. really this is something to get the heart beating hard , generally something short but it don't hurt to get around ten to fifteen minutes. I know this sounds funny but cleaning in the right way, something incorporating stretching and lifting. Done right house cleaning is almost Yoga .plus you know the place could use it, as a list maker this is good I get to knock off two things at once.
I've covered the importance of list making before , if I can find it, but Just in case I will Re-recommend reading the book that I can't find right now, in the mess , called "How to Get Control of your Time and Your Life". I personally like self-help, but even if you don't this is a good read. Especially the ideas on making list's.
If you haven't made your lists that would be a great resolution for you. It could direct your life in a very positive manner. I'll cover this when I can find the book, about you know how to get organized. To really get it right you would have to read the book, if you have the time.
For myself I feel its important to have long term goals something that might take your whole life to do. Its also to have a list of things you'd like to do or have. This list can tell you more about yourself than maybe any other single self test. Simplified this list includes everything you would want and should be pages. This list can also include long term goals but include everything like if a mansion on a hill is your thing be specific, like what hill and how big. If your thing is more spiritual, blessings to you , put it down specifically I really would like to be a Bohdistava, I wont because I'm just not worthy or up to it I guess but its just a list at this point. The thing at this time is to have an overflowing plate , more things than you could ever do in a single life cycle. I think a good thing to have on the plate is plenty of adventure, I mean wouldn't you like to find an ancient city,. I mean plus the usualls, climbing mountains places to see . I put down find a dinosaur, I don't know why , but I actually got to cross that off the list.
As you read the book you learn to evaluate and prioritize your list but the dinosaur was a two. basically you look at the list and grade how important each thing on the list to you 1 big, three like would be nice. It was a two because to do it would require some learning along with the physical of getting to where I could find one. not a one, unless say I was planning to pursue dino hunting as an avocation. Where as three's are more of if you get the chance to do it do it.
Of course the ones make me think of two things, here in lie our value system, basically the ones tell you who you want to be. And two it is the motor that will drive your ego. The thing with ones is they take planning, time, and persistence. If you want the hummer with gold trimmed spinner hubcaps figure how you are going to pay for it, exactly, including the cost to your personal self using time spent verses value.
At this point in my life I still want what I've always wanted , and I think I'll still get it, but without the right actions it will always stay unchecked on my list. Since it involves my existence this year it will be a major part of my life, like it or not. Bad as it is if I make the right actions and decisions I see that this could be the best thing to happen to me in years.
It's all about the stick and the carrot, even with myself. I try to see all the positives that these changes would make as incentives , the carrot. My carrot is organic of course and involves a lifestyle of self sustainability, it includes learning a new skill among many things I have never done.
I think a good one should be part dream , part planning. If you really want it, you see the path that you would have to take all the way through. The hard part is realism you have to be able to actually walk that path. Plus as the zen guys say there is always going to be rocks and boulders and rivers to cross.
Its good to put effort into your ones, the more the better because the more effort it takes the more value as in worth verses time invested you start seeing if your ones have a real value to you. As George Carlin put it , you spend your life working to buy stuff that you don't have time to use because your always working to buy stuff.
Its funny when it all comes down to it the important thing to remember is that time is the major value of life. I mean it really is all about time and how you use it.
which once you figure it out you realize that not only is it shorter than you think, theirs never enough of it. I mean we spend almost a third of our life sleeping, especially considering babies and old folks sleep almost half the time. And what they consider 8 hours of sleep a day normal. A little hint if your looking for extra time there's a place you can get it. Get up early is better to do a specific extra task. I found that when I was writing I did my best when I got up an hour earlier than I had to and used that time just to write.
One more thing on time is consider how much time you spend on sustaining your lifestyle. If you work over forty hours a week there's another third of your life. This is just me talking but I consider a good scale to grade your work time would be that the hunter gatherers of So. America spend approximately two to three hours a day on daily and long term sustenance. Considering how advanced we are what does it take to provide ours? As they say work less get paid more.
This post is of course about me throwing a few of my goals for the year as well as giving general ideas if your looking for resolutions.
physically I want to take on a trail this year. All over America there are trails stretching hundreds of miles. because they are local I'm shooting for the Katy trail which is a peat gravel trail about 220 miles long. Definitely bike material. We here have the Trail of Tears which is defined in the name. it stretches about seven or eight states in the US of A. One of a few trails near a thousand miles long. Yeah Id like to hike a chunk of it. If I get the time and finance it would be a value , worth the effort.
For me I'd label the Katy a one it's more within my reach , because its near , cheap, and I think I can do it physically. The trail of tears I'd relegate to two because of the distance and funding required , I'd do it if I get the shot but realistically my time would be better concentrated on my one.
Artistically I'm pushing for launching a show on ustream, again. Art will still hold a spot in my time usage, as valuable as time is, because using the brain creativity can also be counted as exercise this of the mental variety. As always I'd like to read another of the great classics. A hint for mental art time is that it can fill blank spaces in your time. While a classic should be read leisurely i've found that reading can be done if your prepared in lines, using other wise wasted time , which will in a side plus reduce the stress that watching your time fall away while waiting . I.E. if you know you have to go somewhere and wait in a long line bring a book, or your list and work on them.
At least that is what the book would say to do. While I guess you can't really save time , you can make the most of it
I think that will be my number one resolution to make the most use out of the time I get.
Maybe this all times in with a dream I had recently, a recurring dream for over thirty years . In the dream it is always the day before I have to be someplace very important only I never know where or what I'm supposed to do , other than I just reenlisted. The Freudal point of the dream I'm sure centers on me facing my future event, facing my fear or insecurities for change. over the years I've encountered the coming day each time individually, and maybe with the repetitiveness I at least seem to be calmer and a little more prepared to face not knowing where I have to be or do.
The last dream however added a new scene, for the first time I saw the break of this day that I have dreamed on for thirty years. I think my feelings I had at the time are a good sign,
first off watching the sun rise magnificently in a reddish pink glow all the fear I ever had for the day drained away. I'm proud of that I believe I can't control my fate or destiny , or how I will die, except in how I face it.
Second I'm not going to kid you I felt sadness, because of what was going to happen , it felt normal, I was sad because I felt it was right to be and I kind of said to myself I think I'm ready, and another voice also me said that's good because ready or not here it comes.
That might be a top resolution for the year be resolute in purpose. Despite or even to spite all the things they throw at us work towards you goals and dreams with passion and urgency.
After deducting two thirds of your life for sleep and work divided by your place in your lifespan, I'll be kind and say I'm middle aged so that's half of my third gone. Just to think if say your near thirty that's about a third of that third gone as well. Makes you think when you organize your day.
Some nice photos of the sun, it had been calm for a week or so but is starting to kick up. Hopefully soon I will start putting some actual information on this page including the disaster map postings I see everyday. As I've said before most of this information is useless here except as a storage for me to find stories when I need a link.
So for that and maybe somewhere in the mass of information a plot or direction will become apparent. At least we can find out which way to run as the new year unfolds.
Peace and Love through the coming New Year B.
