This is my fifth New Year's Eve post that I've written since I started this blog in 2008, and this post has always been one to which I've looked forward. At the end of every year, I've always liked to look back at the previous 12 months, pick out a few key moments, post a few of the rare pictures in which I'm not drooling or something, and put a cap on the year.
I could write do something similar this year, but the truth is that I don't have all that much to say about 2012. To be honest, I feel it wasn't an especially eventful year for me. I suppose there were a few significant times. Some were good: I was ordained on New Year's Day; I started preaching at a church in Germantown, Kentucky; I took a trip to Maryland for a friend's wedding; I gained a couple nephews; I forged some new friendships; I watched The Wonder Years; I found my watch under my couch after I thought I had lost it; and they opened a Qdoba in my part of town . Some parts were not so good: I made mistakes; I lost some friendships; I stressed out a lot and had a lot of late nights writing papers; and I generally became even more cynical than I was a year ago.
I tend to become especially reflective at the end of December. I think back over the year and ask, "Am I a different person now than I was in January?" The answer ought to be "Yes", I think. We are designed to continually develop and change as we get older. But when I think about 2012, I think my answer would have to be "No." I haven't changed very much, and not many thing about my life, my daily activities, or my setting have changed either.
Oh wait. Let me amend that. I did get a peacoat and a scarf. So that's new.
Maybe my struggle comes in part because I've been approaching New Year's wrong all these years. I've always used it as a reason to look back at what has happened and to remember the year with fondness. And looking back may be alright, but it's only really useful when it's paired with a glance forward. Since moving to Cincinnati a year and a half ago, I've become increasingly nostalgic. I'm always thinking about how great things used to be and who I used to be, and I try to figure out how I can recapture the elements that made my past great. But when you go through life with that sort of approach, you cease moving forward. You can't run ahead of you if you're gaze is always fixed behind you.
When you begin each year looking back but not forward, you can't expect to progress over the next twelve months. You'll stay the same. Over the past few years, I've seen my friends and peers maturing, getting married, starting families, beginning exciting new ventures. And I've eaten a lot of frozen pizzas and worn the same sweatpants almost every day.
The past has value, and it's important from time to time to look back at it. But it's only useful when it propels you forward. You are born out of your past, but you're aren't defined by it. The future holds possibility, and we are reminded of that each January 1st. I'm not forced to stay as I am. In fact, I'm built to do the opposite. I'm built to grow and change and develop.
I don't know what 2012 has meant for you. I really do hope that it was a banner year for you and that it's one full of good memories and cheerful moments. But maybe, like me, you're ready for something new. The good news is that new things are possible. That's true each day of the year, I guess, but we feel it most fully as that ball in Times Square drops.
In any case, I really ought to wash these sweatpants sometime. Maybe I'll make that Resolution #1.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Stuff I Like Pt. 2
A couple years ago, I wrote a blog post that was just a list of things I like. There are a couple reasons why doing something like this is beneficial from time to time. For one thing, it is Christmas season, and during this time it's good to think about happy things like trees with lights, snowman-shaped sugar cookies, and catching a honey under the mistletoe. For another, I can tend to be a rather negative person, and I have a habit on focusing on things I don't like rather than on things that I do. And so, in order not to become a complete Debbie Downer, I have to occasionally remind myself of the things in life I really like.
And so, for your edification, here's the 2012 version of "Stuff I Like":
-I like "O Come O Come Emmanuel." It's my favorite Christmas song.
-I like handwritten letters. I feel that if something is really worth saying, it's worth getting a hand-cramp about.
-I like that a vendor at the mall tried to get me to buy some hand lotion by asking if I had a "special lady in my life."
-I like to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," get a little teary-eyed at the end, and then scold myself for being such a sap.
-I like that I drive right past Great American Ballpark on my way to church each weekend.
-I like eating pizza. Seriously, it's maybe the one thing I could eat every meal for the rest of my life and not get tired of.
-I like this shirt. (This is a not-so-subtle hint in case you're not sure what to get me for my birthday.)
-I like the left side of my face, because my beard isn't as patchy there as on the right side.
-I like when I can watch a movie and identify what else an actor is in without having to check IMDB. By the way, did you know that the doctor in "The Dark Knight Rises" was in an episode of "How I Met Your Mother"?
-I like to keep my apartment cold, because I like the warmth of being under my covers in the morning.
-I like to watch really dramatic, coming-of-age TV shows, because I feel it makes up for the lack of drama in my own life.
-I like when someone quotes my blog. Seriously, it makes me feel more accomplished than in anything else I do.
-I like fiction written by British authors. Somehow, they really are the best storytellers.
-I like going to Kansas and seeing the massive Kansas sky that stretches from horizon to horizon.
-I like when people recognize my Oregon State Beavers jacket for what it is instead of assuming it's a Cincinnati Bengals jacket.
-I like how every frozen yogurt shop feels the need to have furniture that looks like it's from a 1950's science fiction movie.
-I like the sense of hopeful that expectation that exists when I go to a baseball game or ride an airplane, and I know that there is a chance that Katie the Bank Teller could have the ticket to the empty seat next to mean. However, I don't like the crushing disappointment that comes when it turns out to be a 45-year-old dude who won't even share his nachos with me.
-I like to have pictures of my friends on my fridge so that I can think of them every time I get some pizza rolls or a can of Coke.
-I like going to the Esquire Theater in Cincinnati because of its sense of nostalgia.
-I like to talk with people about what they have been reading lately. I think you can a lot about a person through such discussions.
-I like when I go to Chick-fil-A and order a 8-piece chicken nugget, but they make a mistake and give me nine nuggets instead.
-I like wearing a bookbag. It makes me feel like I'm living the day with purpose.
-I like going places where everyone is good-looking, professional, and sharply dressed, and then I like to daydream about what it would be like not to be such a slob.
-I like that time Donald Miller retweeted me.
-I like thinking of all the women who will fall in love with me next month when I'm able to post pictures of me with my newborn nephews.
-I like to drink a mug of hot chocolate on chilly winter nights while I watch TV.
-I like how a recent commercial for the iPad Mini showed the cover of Love Does by Bob Goff, which was perhaps the best book I read this year.
-I like being able to look up from my typing and see my Alfred Hitchcock poster, which reminds me of just how classy I really am.
-I like to sometimes take the last couple steps going down stairs as one big jump because it reminds me of doing that when I was a kid.
-I like when city streets are arranged as a grid, so that it's always pretty simple to get from one place to another.
-I like when people come over to my apartment because it forces me to clean up the place.
-I like winking. I feel it's an underused form of nonverbal communication.
And finally, I like you. I like that's it's Christmas season. And more than anything else, I like that Jesus somehow loved us so much that he entered the mess of our world to make it right.
What about you? What's on your like-list for 2012?
And so, for your edification, here's the 2012 version of "Stuff I Like":
-I like "O Come O Come Emmanuel." It's my favorite Christmas song.
-I like handwritten letters. I feel that if something is really worth saying, it's worth getting a hand-cramp about.
-I like that a vendor at the mall tried to get me to buy some hand lotion by asking if I had a "special lady in my life."
-I like to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," get a little teary-eyed at the end, and then scold myself for being such a sap.
-I like that I drive right past Great American Ballpark on my way to church each weekend.
-I like eating pizza. Seriously, it's maybe the one thing I could eat every meal for the rest of my life and not get tired of.
-I like this shirt. (This is a not-so-subtle hint in case you're not sure what to get me for my birthday.)
-I like the left side of my face, because my beard isn't as patchy there as on the right side.
-I like when I can watch a movie and identify what else an actor is in without having to check IMDB. By the way, did you know that the doctor in "The Dark Knight Rises" was in an episode of "How I Met Your Mother"?
-I like to keep my apartment cold, because I like the warmth of being under my covers in the morning.
-I like to watch really dramatic, coming-of-age TV shows, because I feel it makes up for the lack of drama in my own life.
-I like when someone quotes my blog. Seriously, it makes me feel more accomplished than in anything else I do.
-I like fiction written by British authors. Somehow, they really are the best storytellers.
-I like going to Kansas and seeing the massive Kansas sky that stretches from horizon to horizon.
-I like when people recognize my Oregon State Beavers jacket for what it is instead of assuming it's a Cincinnati Bengals jacket.
-I like how every frozen yogurt shop feels the need to have furniture that looks like it's from a 1950's science fiction movie.
-I like the sense of hopeful that expectation that exists when I go to a baseball game or ride an airplane, and I know that there is a chance that Katie the Bank Teller could have the ticket to the empty seat next to mean. However, I don't like the crushing disappointment that comes when it turns out to be a 45-year-old dude who won't even share his nachos with me.
-I like to have pictures of my friends on my fridge so that I can think of them every time I get some pizza rolls or a can of Coke.
-I like going to the Esquire Theater in Cincinnati because of its sense of nostalgia.
-I like to talk with people about what they have been reading lately. I think you can a lot about a person through such discussions.
-I like when I go to Chick-fil-A and order a 8-piece chicken nugget, but they make a mistake and give me nine nuggets instead.
-I like wearing a bookbag. It makes me feel like I'm living the day with purpose.
-I like going places where everyone is good-looking, professional, and sharply dressed, and then I like to daydream about what it would be like not to be such a slob.
-I like that time Donald Miller retweeted me.
-I like thinking of all the women who will fall in love with me next month when I'm able to post pictures of me with my newborn nephews.
-I like to drink a mug of hot chocolate on chilly winter nights while I watch TV.
-I like how a recent commercial for the iPad Mini showed the cover of Love Does by Bob Goff, which was perhaps the best book I read this year.
-I like being able to look up from my typing and see my Alfred Hitchcock poster, which reminds me of just how classy I really am.
-I like to sometimes take the last couple steps going down stairs as one big jump because it reminds me of doing that when I was a kid.
-I like when city streets are arranged as a grid, so that it's always pretty simple to get from one place to another.
-I like when people come over to my apartment because it forces me to clean up the place.
-I like winking. I feel it's an underused form of nonverbal communication.
And finally, I like you. I like that's it's Christmas season. And more than anything else, I like that Jesus somehow loved us so much that he entered the mess of our world to make it right.
What about you? What's on your like-list for 2012?
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