2006
This was the best year of my life so far. Now that the characters and subplots of an untold story arc have converged to a climax and denouement, I can speak in oblique terms. I sincerely apologize that I'm not at liberty to go into more detail, because I dislike posts that don't tell the reader what they are talking about. Forgive me a momentary indulgence in that fully-acknowledged hypocrisy. In order for this post to not be totally worthless to you, here's a song.
Somewhere Over The Rainbow, What A Wonderful World cover by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole MP3 link.
In January, while most of you were witnessing me floating several feet off the floor, I wrote the following to myself:
_I have never regarded myself as pessimistic. I am a realist. I take a hard-nosed stance toward the distinction between daydream and reality. Some realities, no matter how unbearable, will never be what I wish them to be.
But when scenarios play out that I regard as wildly implausible and hopelessly self-indulgent even to contemplate, I have to admit that I've been too strict with myself. Hope is distinct from faith. For a realist, reality is law. And the experiential facts have born out the claim that I have, in fact, been a pessimist, technically.
_
I do not need to remind myself that dreams do not magically come true just because I wish them to. Even when they come true almost verbatim_, this is not evidence that the universe loves me. That's not the_ cause_._
But they can.
Other things that I learned include ...
...that "tears of joy" is not just a figure of speech.
...that getting pretty much whatever I want in life is far more likely than expected. The sky is the limit. Now, to turn that principle toward my career, or as Kahlil Gibran put it, "work is love made visible".
...that once I've reached the sky, my reach may have exceed my grasp.
...that there is a downside to my most well-known character trait, that of enthusiasm. A pedestal is a dangerous place to be.
...that I have not yet seen any bottom to the calm emotional resilience with which I cope and adjust, probably owing to a strange arrangement of brain chemicals. Here's hoping it stays that way.
...that knowing I don't have to worry much about getting what I want makes it easy to turn my attention to what other people want.
Comments
Anonymous on Dec. 31, 2006 7:44 PM — ko tavla bau la lojban
u'i sai tu'a la lojban
matt-arnold on Dec. 31, 2006 8:03 PM — Re: ko tavla bau la lojban
ko tavla bau la lojban - Speak in Lojban.
u'i sai tu'a la lojban - Extreme amusement regarding Lojban.
.ainai - Refusal.
.i ti karni fo glico - This journal is for an English audience.
dbvanhorn on Dec. 31, 2006 7:59 PM
Why am I not surprised that you know Iz's work? :)
I don't expect to see it pop up much here in the midwest though.
Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!
flutterby68 on Dec. 31, 2006 8:30 PM
Happy new year, dear. May it be prosperous, joyful and everything you've dreamed it could be.
trav13369 on Dec. 31, 2006 9:51 PM — For someone so logical and pragmatic,...
you seem to have found some profound truth in your life-new tenets to live by. If you were anyone else, I'd say you have had a spiritual experience with this revelation.
Happy New Year
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