Good Riddance?
Firstly, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year :)
I've heard so many people say "goodbye 2008! good riddance!!!" To this I say, why?
There is no denying that 2008 had some really low points for me. The bad stuff was pretty bad and I hated every drawn-out second of it, and not all of that bad stuff is necessarily "over". But those bad things - even the ones that were out of my control - gave me motivation and more opportunity. With each obstacle in life, each thing that falls out of place...something else falls into place. Some things are visible and tangible... the things that eventually fall away anyhow. The rest, I get to take with me.
I used to think that life was a matter of waiting it out until it was over. That maybe, magically, things would snap into place - as if I were reading someone else's authoring of my life. That's why I cringe when I hear people say, "2009 will be_____".
Won't it be what you decide to do with it....
- Even in the face of a tough economy
- Even if we have a marxist president
- Despite a terrorist threat
- Besides aches and pains
- ???
I've heard so many people say "goodbye 2008! good riddance!!!" To this I say, why?
There is no denying that 2008 had some really low points for me. The bad stuff was pretty bad and I hated every drawn-out second of it, and not all of that bad stuff is necessarily "over". But those bad things - even the ones that were out of my control - gave me motivation and more opportunity. With each obstacle in life, each thing that falls out of place...something else falls into place. Some things are visible and tangible... the things that eventually fall away anyhow. The rest, I get to take with me.
I used to think that life was a matter of waiting it out until it was over. That maybe, magically, things would snap into place - as if I were reading someone else's authoring of my life. That's why I cringe when I hear people say, "2009 will be_____".
Won't it be what you decide to do with it....
- Even in the face of a tough economy
- Even if we have a marxist president
- Despite a terrorist threat
- Besides aches and pains
- ???
posted by Phelony Jones at 8:48 AM
2 Comments:
American popular culture encourages "magical thinking" a lot. We'll be happy when we weigh X pounds, when we meet The Romantic Partner, when we buy a house, when we have kids, when the kids grow up, when we retire, etc. Good way to be perpetually miserable, waiting for things, and I wish I would have figured that out about twenty years before I did.
The "good riddance to 2008!" is often followed by some sort of glee about the Age of Obama. I'm making no predictions about what these folks will say on 1/1/2010, but I suspect the majority won't be magically happier than they are now based on anything he does.
If I were to isolate myself from the media, 2008 was pretty much like any other year. I've had worse. I've had better. I'm actually more nervous about entering 2009 than I am leaving 2008. If people think things can't get worse, then you're . . . well . . . an idiot. Particularly, locally. I have some reservations about the Obama rule, but I have severe reservations about Wisconsin. Particularly when I see what's going on in other states.
It's going to be a rough ride. And I don't like roller coasters.
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