Happy New Year?

I meant to holla at yall yesterday, but between cleaning up, making store runs, and entertaining company throughout the day, I just wasn't able to get to it. So as I celebrate my birthday today, I want to take the time now to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2010!

By all accounts, having a better year than 2009 won't be that hard. It was a very difficult year for most. Whether it was financial hardship, the loss of loved ones (RIP MJ), job dissatisfaction or the straining of friendships, I think we'll all be glad to leave it behind.

Historically at the completion of a difficult year - which 2009 was for me - I'd look to the newly approaching year for redemption. But I have grown frustrated in those attempts, as, year over year, there has been no redemption to be found. Two days ago, my girlfriend said something to me that led me down a path to a possible explanation as to why that is. While venting to me about some things that have been bothering her, she said something about how her life having been in tumult for the last ten years, and suddenly, a lightbulb went off. What if we dont really start anew every year? What if our lifecycles are measured in decades? Or twelve-year periods, like the Chinese zodiac suggests? Or some other chunk of astrological time? I mean, the world is said to be ruled in "ages" (this being the age of Aquarius) that span about 2,150 years. Our individual life cycles could very well follow a similar pattern.

Now, there is good and bad in every year, but recently, for me, they seem to have been more bad than good. The last year that stands out to me as being a really great one is... 1998. In retrospect, the 90's, in general, were pretty good to me, and things began to shift just before the turn of the century. The new millenium opened my eyes to a world of possibilities, yet I always seemed to fall just short of realizing most of the goals I'd set. That being said, I have made more personal strides in the past 3 months than I have in the last 3 years, so maybe things are on the cusp of shifting again. Maybe the 2000-teens puts me back on the upswing. The Chinese zodiac seems to indicate that 1988 to 2000 dated my previous life cycle and that one was great! 2012 would officially mark the end of the one I'm in now and the actual beginning of my next one, so there might actually be something to this theory. Read up on it. You might be very surprised at how closely it coincides with events from your own life.

Whatever the explanation, I must say that I feel really good about 2010, which is not something I have been able to honestly say in quite a few years. I almost feel as if I have been in a trance for the last 10 years and have finally snapped out of it - and it didnt just start last night, waiting for the ball to drop. I am feeling very optimistic about what lies ahead, whether the outcome is a result of my own planning or that of a higher power. I truly hope you all have the same positive outlook on your futures. So with that, I bid you adieu, and if you haven't committed yourself to any specific changes in the new year, then do something for ME. In 2010, find something to believe in....