2010: Live Your Life

It's been a long time since I've blogged, and there's not really a single reason why I stopped. I just haven't had anything worth saying...in a while. That being said...I do have some thoughts on the New Year (even if I'm a little late on the resolution/fresh-start train)...

As the title suggests, my motto for 2010 is "live your life" (and yes, it is inspired by the T.I./Rhianna song because that's how I roll). May seem pretty simple...but I think it's a fitting start to this new decade.

If there's anything that I learned from my "redefine in 09" year is that life throws us unexpected curve balls. So many things about this past year made me realize how short a lifetime can be, and in turn it made me appreciate the significance and impact of simple, thoughtful gestures. The growing sense of mortality also caused me to acknowledge how many days I've wasted...and when I say wasted I don't mean "I took an evening to rest" or "I spent a Saturday enjoying a novel or movie"....it's more of the "I went to dinner tonight because I felt an unspoken obligation to be there" or "I spent money on a concert that I really had no interest in just to be semi-social" type deal. It's the epiphany that I shouldn't continually do things that leave me frustrated, stretched for cash, etc when I could easily take that time to invest in my health, rejuvenation, home maintenance, etc.

These past 12 months were a continuance in learning what I truly enjoy, what my limitations are, what I value, what annoys me, what my personal goals are, etc. I've noticed that with each year, I feel a little more self-aware and comfortable in my own skin. I don't feel the same pressures to be something that I'm not or meet the expectations of outside influences. I've also gotten a lot better about saying "no"...and the even bigger step forward is that I don't have the self-imposed guilt that used to come whenever I turned down an offer/request/etc. In general, I just feel a lot calmer and more peaceful than I have in a long time...I think I can attribute that to finally (truly) accepting that there's sooo much that is out of my control.

2010 has started off with a bang...presenting a fresh set of challenges and glimmers of new opportunities. Only God knows what this year has in store...and that's okay with me. So my two cents (because that's exactly what my opinion is worth) is that for 2010, keep it simple and just live your life. :)

So live your life
You steady chasin' that paper
Just live your life
Ain't got no time for no haters
Just live your life
No tellin' where it'll take ya

Just live your life