New Year

I have been mulling over various blog posts for the past several weeks. I even started a draft of one. For some reason though, I never really got it started. For all the other ideas I never even started writing them (although I did look up a couple articles for one). I couldn't really figure out why I could never seem to motivate myself to type up these rather painstakingly thought out ideas. Then one day as I was driving home it hit me. Somewhere in my mind I suppose I always knew I should not write all the critical and mostly negative blog posts I had been planning. There are plenty of things that I get angry about and if you get me started talking about one of them you may find yourself wishing you could get me to stop!

However, I absolutely do NOT want my blog to become yet another internet sounding board for agitations and complaints about government, politics, journalism, vaccinations, public schools, hospitals,  health care, and so on and so forth. I have Facebook for that! Public debate is of course necessary and has its place, but that place is not my personal blog. There are enough places on the internet already to express ideas, spark conversations and facilitate debate (which oftentimes even on Facebook comments among friends turns nasty really fast). My intention is never to offend someone with views I express on my blog. This is a place for me to express my thoughts, my challenges (and historically speaking how I eventually overcome or am assisted through them), my happiness and reflect on my life. If that has amused, entertained or uplifted someone else in the process then I am happy. I certainly would not feel proud or accomplished if anything I had wrote here made someone feel bad about themselves, their choices, their beliefs, etc. I do not ask to be judged so I certainly have no right to use my blog as a place to issue my judgements upon the opinions and ideas of others.

There is enough negativity in all our lives that really who needs another critic? I sure don't, and it is not worth my time and energy to dwell on them or force others who may read my writings to do the same.

On that note, I am starting off this New Year (a little late I know) with a positive attitude and a desire to recognize the good and beautiful things that are all around me every day. I want to look back at what I wrote about my life in 2014 years from now and remember the wonderful things I experienced and reflect on the precious times I spent with my new little family watching Liam grow and supporting Tony through his schooling.  I do not want to look back and read hateful posts about issues that cause anger in my heart.

I am nearing my 250th post on this blog and I have been looking back through some of my earlier posts, when I was a much more diligent blogger than I am now. Mosts of my posts are filled with fond memories, and I feel joy recalling how much I enjoyed my days in school. I am definitely in favor of finding joy in my life. I can really think of no better way to spend some of my free time writing than to pursue sharing beauty and joy with others. As a matter of fact, seeking the good in life is one of the basic tenants of my religion (Number 13 to be precise):

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

It is so so so easy to get caught up in the negative, and I absolutely know (see my last post) that I am all too often guilty of this. However, I think devoting a little more time to this blog and recording those sought after things in my life that are "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy" will be a good exercise for me this year. I already know that there are some rather significant challenges and even greater blessings ahead this year, and I look forward to experiencing and sharing them all. I am also excited for the opportunity to look back on what is coming and what has passed some day in the future and seeing how all my little, sometimes rather insignificant, moments culminated in a supremely beautiful life! And for sticking in there through all the above ramblings a few recent pictures:

 More on this tree later!

And in a hat tip to blog traditions of yore I think I need to close with a quote and a music video from none other than one of my very favorite bands (which is also my alarm clock every morning). If you know me well or are an old reader you know what's coming I bet!

And we'll keep working on the problem we know we'll never solve
Of Love's uneven remainders, our lives are fractions of a whole.
But if the world could remain within a frame like a painting on a wall,
Then I think we would see the beauty.
Then we would stand staring in awe at our still lives posed like a bowl of oranges,
like a story told by the fault lines and the soil.

 And because lots of my old video links are broken and it makes me sad to not know what song it was that was particularly meaningful to me at that particular time in my life, the above video is Bowl of Oranges by Bright Eyes (my favorite you know!)

Bring it on 2014, I'm ready for you!