Older and Wiser

The past three years have been hellish. I would like to be able to casually laugh about that statement and call it my usual flair for the dramatic, but alas, it is not. Those closest to me know what I’ve been through, but thanks to a new experimental and high-risk treatment, I can finally see some improvement, albeit slow and painful.

Anyway, since I haven’t really worked in about a year, I’ve had some time to reflect on some things. I recommend stopping and taking stock of your life every now and then.

So, without context, here’s a list of things I can finally see for the first time:

1. Your body will eventually repay you for how you treat it.

2. Nothing is as important as any of us make it. Stop making big issues over small things.

3. When you have conflict with someone, try to remember that we are all walking reflections of our own life experiences. Reactions and points of view often have little or nothing to do with the current source of conflict.

4. If you’re walking around looking for reasons to be offended, you will find them.

5. Keep a list of people who actually take the time to check in on you (especially over the long term). Those are your people.

6. Equally, make sure you take notice of who doesn’t – not for purposes of being angry or upset, but to reevaluate how much of yourself you’re giving to certain relationships that you may have overvalued. Again, not to be mean or snarky, but to match the effort of the other person and to save your energy for your true people.

7. The world will continue without you in your absence. It’s so much easier to find that freeing, instead of seeing it as some sort of comment about your own importance or value.

8. Make time to listen to your body. Look for patterns of behavior and interactions you find draining, and then cut them out. You’ll be surprised to see how much better you feel.

9. Don’t get tied up in your childhood ideals of what your life should look like. To survive on this planet, you need to adapt. It’s a little naive to think your ideals would somehow be spared from the (often painful) growth.

10. If you don’t feel like answering your phone, don’t. No one (notice how I said no one) is entitled to you 24/7.

Also, here’s a photo I took just for some aesthetics.

Okay, bye.