How far I've come
People change, hairstyles change, interest rates fluctuate.
— Hillary Flammond, Top Secret!
I’ve experienced a lot of change over the past twenty-five years. People have come and gone from my life. My professional goals shifted. But I raised a son to adulthood. I kept a marriage going through good times and bad. Overall, I believe it has been a success. Have there been lows? Sure. I was once convinced I’d be an archivist, maintaining collections of precious artifacts and documents. But that fell away. I had friendships I thought would last my entire life, but didn’t, as I lost people for various reasons. In the case of one friend for whom I cared very much, he died unfairly young. I’m overdue for a visit to him at Arlington National Cemetery. I’ll leave a rock on his headstone.
I’ve made changes to my life, both spiritually and materially, that have had a substantial positive impact on my outlook and even how I conduct my day-to-day life. I’m happier with myself than I’ve been for a long, long time. It all involves intentionality and an understanding of what I need as a person.
Being present and aware in one’s life isn’t just a Buddhist thing. It’s a necessary component of happiness. As I wrote in the manuscript I’m currently working on:
I breathe, and the breath becomes a memory, but my next breath comes, and I know that if I can always find a moment, this moment, to breathe… it will be okay.