2010 - the year of change
Here I sit, on the first morning of the new year, sipping a mimosa and writing. Over the last few days, I’ve experienced a growing sense that something big is coming my way, something good, but something big. I don’t know what it is, or when it will get here, but I feel like it isn’t far off. Of course, on one hand, I could be completely wrong, and on the other hand, it might already be here. Yes, 2010 might actually be the big thing around the corner.
It is with some interest that I note that that the digits in the year 2010 are the same ones from 2001, just arranged a little differently. For those that don’t know, 2001 was a year of tumultuous upheaval for me. To recap, in February I had a new job. In March, less than a month after starting my new job, I lost my second wife to cancer. A few months later I would lose the new job due to the dot com bubble bursting, I would be out of work several months, I bought a motorcycle, I married an old girlfriend (omg what a mistake that was!), and later in the year we relocated here to South Carolina, away from family and friends. The intervening years have provided some of the best and some of the lowest moments of my life, and I count myself lucky to have found some worthwhile people with whom to share at least parts of my life.
On the positive side, I have grown a lot since 2001, and I am better equipped to deal with some of the uncertainties that come with living on this planet. I have felt for sometime that I’ve been standing at a crossroads, trying to determine if I should continue down the same path or strike out and take another route. Circumstances have changed, as they always do. I am single again, and have been for a while. I have a good, stable job that provides enough for me to do what I want outside of work. I am on the verge of reaching black belt in jujitsu, another step on the journey down that path. I’m smart enough and capable enough that I know I can do anything I want, if I am willing to do the work, to work hard and work smart.
I have learned over the last year that some of the things I’ve been doing don’t really work for me any longer. For example, I am an introvert by nature, and my tendency many times is to isolate myself from others, in the sanctuary of my home. Sometimes this is a good thing - sometimes it’s not. This coming year is going to be different in how I handle some social situations. I’m not going to spend the holidays alone this year - well, perhaps I should say I’m going to be around people more, to be more accurate.
I just get the feeling that this coming year is going to set the tone for the next several years to come for me, and that it’s time to make sure things are the way I want them to be, as much as possible. So, it’s time to make some decisions, then roll up my sleeves and get to work making it happen.
Happy New Year!