Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Resolved......

'Tis the season for those annual, utterly breakable resolutions we are prone to make as we cross from an old year to a new year. Lose ten pounds, save more, spend less, be happier, write more, play more, work less... you know. I've been thinking about this. A lot. That's why I'm getting around to New Year's resolutions on January 5th. Besides it's bloody freezing here in northeast Florida. Things slow down when they get cold. I know. No sympathy. He's been missing in inaction since December 19th... blog more? Nah, bad resolution for that guy... I am indeed a miserable failure when it comes to those hundreds of resolutions of muses past. Write more, write more songs, perform more, work harder, focus, focus, make more friends, take more pictures, learn to relax, focus...

I am a ridiculously impatient person by nature. I can't sit still long enough to keep a resolution... one of those who makes good starts, gets bored, rushes off to the next thing, poor finishes - or never finished. There is this constant sound track in my head: "hurry up, you'll miss something, move, stay, here comes the next big thing..." Remember the Billy Crystal character in City Slickers? He asks the old grizzled cowboy what the secret of life is, and gets the one finger response from Jack Pallance... "one thing". That one thing that's different for everybody, but is your own personal secret of life. So maybe I can handle one thing this year. One simple (?) thing: discover patience. PATIENCE!!!!!!! Okay, that's it. The Zen act of inaction. Being in the moment. Stilling the internal dialog. Living where -- and when -- you are. Life will unfold as it will no matter how quickly I try to push it along to the next level. You'll see more when you walk instead of fly -- more detail. Learn more. Slow down.....

My resolution for 2010: Be in the moment. PATIENTLY in the present. Attentively in the present. Consciously in the present. Hell, I'll be 57 in a couple of months -- what's the rush?