Strange Days

I couldn't really think of a title for this post, so I went with "strange" to describe these times. I'm trying not to use more negative words, like "depressing," "worrisome," or "anxious." But if I'm honest, anxiety has been really high for me the last two years. I thought 2007 couldn't be topped for all of the stress that came with it. But then 2008 arrived. A lot of my stress was personal; friends and family are the most important thing to me, and if they hurt, I hurt.

Or at least, that's how I used to be. Then I met my polar opposite in this life, who I nicknamed "Rain" here on the blog. Rain doesn't believe in attachments. Her favorite God is Ganesha, the elephant-man God who carries a blade, which he uses to cut away all attachments. Ganesha clears obstacles, and ensures a good beginning for new things. I love this idea, as I really hadn't gotten this from Christianity. I know Jesus didn't have attachments. He was homeless and didn't own anything in His life. So His life alone should have been the tip-off. He also cautioned us to avoid attachment to material things. But Rain doesn't get attached to people, either, at least not in the obsessive way Americans attach to each other. I have to single us out on this, because I really think a lot of the obsessive behaviors of the world originated in America.

Which leads me to our current crisis, which was the point of this post (it was? ha). We biggie-sized everything, including ourselves, and now it's slowly killing us. Big homes we can't afford, big vehicles we can't afford, double-sized portions, collections upon collections of "things"....

So now we can't afford that home, that car, or even all of that food. My parents came up in humble circumstances (Dad grew up during the The Great Depression), so I was taught to be reasonable. I wouldn't dream of a $300,000 home, a $25,000 vehicle, or endless food. But I am compulsive, so I do have collections of "things." I finally put and end to collecting things, and at this point, would rather collect experiences. Hence, trips to NYC, Boston, and VA Beach this year. I did buy one extravagance, my 65" TV. I don't regret it, as it's really the only way to view movies at home for me.

The new year is coming. I love being able to make that list of goals, and I generally stick to most of them. So my goal, like many I'm sure, will be to focus on being in a healthy place: spiritually, physically, and financially. More about that list as the time nears. I'd encourage you to start thinking about it, like I have, and to try to think about how we can all make things better.

I had a dream last night that Obama was my neighbor. In this dream, we were good friends, and I felt safe talking to him. Which is odd because I haven't felt connected to him the way many have. But in the dream, I felt safe. I'd like to think that's a sign. One person alone can't do it all, but if we're all on the same page, maybe together, we all can.

Here's to Hope.