Well, glad THAT'S over! But, seriously...

I hear many say:  "Whew!  GOOD RIDDANCE to 2021!  What a horrible year!"

I can't blame them.  I've caught myself saying that often this year.  It's the first full year in modern times that the entire world has endured a viral pandemic.  It has caused a lot of sickness, division, strife, fear, and death.  Indeed, there are few who would not wish it over.  I'm not sure I want to meet them!

But I have a secret:  I have not let it dominate my life.  And, in fact, it's been a pretty darn good year overall. 

How can I possibly say that?  Am I mad?  Perhaps I have a yet-unnamed variant that has has caused my brain to go ka-blooey?  What, on earth, could make a person say such a preposterous thing?  Do I not pay attention to the news?  Do I not care? 

My dear readers, let me explain.  Yes, I watch the news.  Intently.  Yes, I know people who've gotten COVID and suffered greatly.  There have been some in my network who've died from it.  I believe in science, as well as being a serious student of history, and I have been vaccinated plus boosted.  Ditto my wife and children (the latter will be boosted when that time arrives).   I mask because I do care for others.

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Aside from COVID, I've attended unrelated funerals this year (people still just die), saw relationships disintegrate, talked with people who have lost jobs, people have let me down, and I'm sure I've let others down.  COVID has no corner on the suffering we humans endure.  It's just one thing in a long list of things that can corrupt our inner peace.

So, what right, then, do I have to say that IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN A GOOD YEAR?

In a short phrase: my priorities.

The following is a short list of where I place my values and how those values lead to my thoughts, actions, and ultimately my peace of mind.

1.  My Faith

Above anything and everything in my life, I believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God.  I am a professing Christian; and by that, I mean I believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, in whom I place my ultimate and utmost trust.  I believe Christ guides me, instructs me, counsels me, corrects me, and loves me unconditionally.  I do not always understand why certain things happen on this planet, and I occasionally lapse in doubt in my faith, but then I realize that I am created by something perfect, transcending our imperfect world, who loves every single person on the planet who has ever lived, and it is especially critical at the hardest times in my life to remind myself of this.  

I am blessed to have been raised in the church, professed my faith as a young person, mentored by many Believers in my life, and my faith has been the foundational lens through which I view the world.  

2  My Health

And by "health", I mean spiritual, mental, emotional and physical.  I try hard to take care of all four elements of my health.  I've touched on the first already.  

But falling in line right behind would be my mental faculties.  I consider myself fortunate that I've never had any debilitating mental illness, and I feel for those who fight things like severe depression daily. I also try and keep my brain as supple and challenged as possible through reading, writing, creating, etc.  

My emotional health I would also consider to be in good shape; it's one that has been hard to evolve in my life - particularly when I think back to my teens and early 20s - but I take active steps in making my reactions to things in a more measured way. 

Physical health, as the last, remains very important.  I have always run "a little heavy" in weight, but round my mid-20s or so, I really began to see the value in eating better and absolutely getting daily exercise. I also almost always have no trouble falling asleep and generally sleeping well.  I have more or less maintained both, and I think God that at 52, I am still in relatively good physical condition. 

3.  My Family and Friends (aka Relationships)

If I am taking good care to cultivate the twin gardens of my faith and personal well-being, then I can be best equipped to have optimal meaningful, loving, caring, and progressing relationships with my family and friends.  I have made mention in previous blogs of the trials I've personally endured when it comes to intimate relationships; my first engagement ended with the near-suicide of my then fiance, and my first marriage ended in the terminal cancer death of my wife.  These were intensely personal, tragic, and scarring. 

I am blessed beyond what these fingers can type or what my mouth can orally articulate, however, when I say that being married to Erika is beyond what I deserve; she is loving, caring, kind, patient, funny, graceful - all of the things I cherish and also hope to be at least some of the time.  Additionally, she is a wonderful mother to our two children, Charlotte and Leo.  They never cease to amaze me, even during the sometimes drudgery of everyday life; there is always some kind of wonder, or sparkle, about them that I notice today, that I didn't yesterday.  And will tomorrow.  I love them dearly, and hope to be an even better man to them in the coming years.

Of course, I have a large, wider family cast around the country, including my mother, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, a gaggle of nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.  I love them no less though unfortunately I don't get to see them as often.

I am fortunate too that I have a myriad of friends; I have relied on them in times of troubles, and have celebrated with them in times of triumph and joy.  Sure, at 52, some relationships have dimmed or ended, but then others have been created and flourish.  It is the way of life isn't it?

4.  My Work

If one took a snapshot of my working life - from my first job as a paperboy to my recent as a headhunter - one could hardly look at it and make sense of it all.  I know I can't!  I've changed careers more times than Tom Hanks has changed characters.  

But no matter what I've done, I've tried to give it my all.  I dig in, learn, listen, apply and work hard day after day.  It absolutely helps me on several fronts - mental and spiritual to name a few - and, of course, it is essential to not only providing financial resources for my family and I, but in recent decades, I've been fortunate to earn enough to give back to others.  And as it happens, I've had one of the best work years in my entire life in 2021.  

Work, therefore, is indeed important to me. 

5.  My Hobbies

I don't consider making music a hobby.  I should have included it in the previous section.  I have worked hard - and continue to work very hard - at the mediums in which I pursue music-making:  chiefly, as a singer and a stringed instrumentalist.  I'm often paid for what I do and am grateful for it. 

I still pinch myself when I think back to the fact that I have sang opera/classical, Gregorian chant, Early Music, country, and rock-n-roll.  None of this just happened, and none of it happened for me in any compressed time period; it has evolved over the last 30 years or so.  Maybe, I'm amazed!

I also take great care and wonder in learning how to play bass and regular guitar.  Bass, especially, will always hold a special place in my being; I'm a bass (voice), I usually hear bass lines first in any piece of music, and so playing the lowest-sounding stringed instrument is a natural thing for me. 

It provides pleasures deep inside me, and great joy when I'm making it with others. I plan to make music for as long as I can.

(I have many other hobbies as well, but I think mentioning music suffices here.  It certainly predominates them.)

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So, what's my point?

Dear readers, while I too want to see this pandemic obliterated - or at least ground to a halt - I use the barometer of my faith, health, family, work and hobbies - plus my life experiences - as a guide to ultimately rise above it.  I pay attention the news...but only just. 

Also, I don't get too involved in politics because at its very nature, it is a divisive thing; the country of course is about as divisive as it's been since the Civil War.  Social Media is mostly to thank for that in my opinion, and as time goes on, I withdraw/mute/block those who continue to mock leaders, post provocative and unhelpful things, or sling dirt where once the opportunity en masse didn't exist.  Heck, I may exit SM altogether someday. 

And while of course I am not immune to the grief, strife, turmoil that we all experience - rain falls on us all - I choose to set my priorities in such a way that, really, no matter the year or the situation, I have peace of mind.  I pray you have, or will find, yours too.

Happy New Year, and here's to an even better one for us all! 

ONWARD!