With the new year brings a time of resolutions, promises, parties, and reflection on the previous year.
Rather than write a long-winded blog about a single topic, I wanted to jot down a few things I did differently in 2015 that contributed to being the best year of my life.
1. Stay Regular
That’s right – I poop more frequently! I have to hand this one to my older brother, who gave me the rundown on the reasons why it’s important to take 2-5 #2 trips per day.
The health benefits are superb and the restroom makes for a nice mini-meditation spot while you feel good about taking your digestive health to new levels of wellness.
2. Phone-tention
Earlier this year, I chatted with somebody who told me he would only take his phone out of his pocket if he knew exactly what he intended to use it for; no random time-wasting on your phone.
I’ve also started asking himself why I’m pulling out my phone, aside from motivations; am I uncomfortable? Stressed? Nervous? Etc. Our phones have become security blankets and all of us adults are too old to carry around an iBinkie 6+
3. Physical Touch
I’m naturally an affectionate person. However, I never really exercised this around others. Towards the last half of this year, I made a point to be more physically affectionate to those I love.
It’s incredible to have a group of friends/family that share this sentiment. It’s a major game-changer to have a constant feed of physical affection. From kisses to spooning, we need physical touch.
4. Compliments
Start giving compliments to strangers. It’ll surprise you what happens. We’re so used to hearing baited compliments; affirmations, followed by some sort of manipulative intention, that we don’t know how to receive them.
Offering a compliment to a passer-by, with nothing more stated than the compliment, is a wonderful gift to give others.
5. Family
My definition of family really changed this year. Family is the group of people that nurture and support you, and it’s not always derived from the people you grew up with. Like touch, this need doesn’t go away when we have a lack.
Seeing – and treating – your community of friends as if they were your own family, changes the dynamic of your relationship.
We don’t all come from perfect family backgrounds. However, we all have the opportunity to find, give, and receive this sort of love from our friends and loved ones.
6. Meditation
This was one of the bigger changes I made in 2015 — discovering meditation and conscious living. Meditation is simply being able to calm your mind and re-center yourself.
Some of the other [amazing] meditation forms I’ve found include: astral projection (Yes, it’s possible. Yes, it’s wonderful.) , hypnosis, lucid dreaming, and vedic meditation.
7. Death
I’ve come to terms with the fact that life will, in fact, end. Reading from Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, he said we ought not to worry about our death, whether it be in one day or in three.
Before I was a man, I was a collection of nutrients, organisms, food, animals, people, and other matter in the universe – when I die, I will return the same.
8. Being Present
I didn’t really understand what it meant to be ‘present’ before this year. I thought it was taking a mental inventory of where you were at in the moment.
Being present is accepting the fact that you are squarely where you are at, with full control over the moment and nothing but that moment. To live in the future is to have anxiety. To live in the past is to have regret.
9. Dance
Since moving to SF, I have discovered the many joys of house music and dancing. Previous experience wth dance was limited to clubs and bars. House is so much more than that; it is flow, energy, and surrender.
Every weekend when I dance, I find serenity in surrendering my body to the movement of the music. Similar to being present in meditation, dance has proven to be an incredibly powerful energy within my life.
10. Steve
If I had to give the credits of the year to somebody, it would be to my older brother, Steven. Steve took me under his wing this year and intentionally made it a point to help me maneuver and improve my life.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to him for all of the time, talks, tears, dollars, and wisdom he has poured into my life since coming here.
It’s rare to see such clear examples in our lives where one person has made such an impact. However, Steve is the rock and foundation for the man that I have become this year, and I am grateful.
Summary
2015 was an incredible year of transformation. I never would have thought so many things could transform in <365 days. However, some of these little items were the things that made it count.
L’Chaim.
No Comments