0916141535Is it just me, or are you ready for 2014 to be a memory ? It seems that the start of a New Year brings hope, promise, and an opportunity to revise goals that you did not achieve in the previous year.  I am not referring to resolutions that we all make and break before the end of the first month of the year has passed. You know exactly what I am talking about.

Exercise generally tops the list followed by eating healthier, saving more money, making a major purchase or simply scratching off one more thing on that infamous’ bucket’ list. The experiences of 2014 have changed some ways I will be approaching 2015. I am really going to make a concerted effort to be in the ‘moment’. Having experienced many special moments this year that have caused me to pause, reflect, and rejuvenate the spirit within there have been some real life changing occurrences.

I have had a front row seat to major and significant changes in the lives of friends, colleagues and family. Often times I wondered why I was lucky enough to escape the indescribable events and challenges facing people I care about. One evening the phone continued to ring and one caller after another was describing some horrific experience they were trying to navigate.  Frequently there was little I could do except lift them or their loved ones in prayer. It was a helpless feeling particularly as there was nothing happening in my life a check would not solve. In my moments of reflection the idea of gratitude became a recurring theme.  In waking moments and during slumber I continued to feel grateful that it was not my turn.  The realization that everyone gets a turn did not escape my psyche. I watched people handle their challenge with grace and dignity and I watched others crumble to the floor and seek mercy.  I learned much about the human experience this year.  Of course this was not my first time at the rodeo.  It seems that the lens I was peering through had adjusted themselves independent of any activity I performed and gave me a visual that was difficult to escape. Far too many made a transition from this experience to another and while it created sadness for those left I was often grateful that in His infinite wisdom he relieved them of pain and suffering while we wept at their home going.

I am attune to being in a place that at any moment I can have a life changing event that turns my world inside out or upside down.  I would like to think I will remember the song “I Won’t Complain” and embrace the sage advice of the elders. Fighting the inevitable with verbiage that says wait until tomorrow or I am busy will not allow me to escape the hand I have been dealt.  I can always hope for four aces.

In the meantime I am going to be in the moment savoring every simple thing I have taken for granted far too long.  The joy of a child’s unexpected laughter in a serious moment or a face  and clothing covered in chili juice as a little one tries to negotiate handling a spoon are all reasons the moments become precious.  I have adopted an attitude of gratitude and this is how I will start every day of 2015.  I cannot change the world and realizing the only person I can change is the one whose reflection I see in the mirror is a major life lesson. May the spirit of gratitude embrace and infiltrate your persona as we move forward in a new year.

By CCNM

I have functioned as a Business and Media Consultant over the past sixteen years and spent many years developing my capacity to function in our ever evolving use of technology, communication, education and training.