2023 & Me
Feelin' the Highs
Greetings and a big Happy New Year to you and yours! I’m definitely feeling a positive recharge as this new year starts up. It wasn’t obvious at first, but as we settle into the the usual routines of work and home life after the holidays it has become more apparent that I’m ready to clean-up my work stations, sort my files and delete those old threads that don’t suit me any more. Yes, I’m talking about genuine New Year’s optimism, a kind of feeling of renewal and wanting to be renewed.
But don’t get it twisted, this feeling didn’t just happen in a vacuum or because the calendar and popular culture deem it so. I’m on the tail end of a magnificent overseas trip with my wife to Spain. We just arrived back in the States on New Year’s Day, and after the shroud of endless layovers and cramped cabins has faded away, we’re left with some stunning and unbelievable memories and experiences.
If you know me then you know I certainly enjoy staying my ass at home, so it’s easy for me to forget the positive effects traveling has on your soul. Being halfway around the world for a 5 days tends to change your outlook on life whether you realize it or not. Upon returning from a big trip like this, you feel a certain natural boost in confidence. After being surrounded by, served by, and conversing with total strangers living with different customs and hearing the culmination of seven or so different languages, asserting yourself here at home suddenly isn’t a big deal. When you’ve faced the uncertainty of arriving in a strange new location while your luggage hasn’t, all of sudden giving the squeegee man at the stoplight a firm NO doesn’t conjure uncomfortable feelings, it’s a just the way of the world. Traveling let’s you see where your place in the world is, not just in the obvious physical sense, but also within the whole of humanity and civilization.
This confidence boost not only affects how you deal with the outside world, but also how you react to your personal space. All of sudden, all those text threads/files/to-do lists you want to go thru don’t seem so daunting and tedious. You just handle it because you want to move on with life. You prioritize what you want, what you need and what you don’t like and begin to take the steps to chisel away the unwanted mess. When it’s done you have a tremendous weight lifted from your life. Space is cleared to make room for the coming new stuff.
And I’m digging this feeling.
You don’t have to travel and it doesn’t have to be a new year to want to make that change in your life. All it takes is some resolve, an urge to move forward. And really it’s just the urge to make that first step, cuz that’s the hardest. And that first step can be something as simple as a list you make outlining the steps of how to get to where you want to be. So, you gotta ask yourself, where do I wanna be? Well, my friend, it’s a fresh new year, a hell of time to clean out the clutter. Let’s get to it!
Hey, Milqtoast Crunch has turned one year old! Thanks to all my friends for subscribing and keeping up, and to all the new followers joining in on the fun. Next post will be pics and insights from this trip to Spain. Look out!