Slathering on anti-aging cream and disgustedly looking at a packet of heart-healthy popped corn kernels. Leftover pizza looks far more appetizing than the 190 calorie snack that’s supposed to make me ‘eat happy’ and find health. Wading through a sea of papers that haven’t yet evolved into trash can filler and procrastinating putting the dishes back home into their cabinets. Dyson needs to clear his throat before attacking the floors. The anti-aging cream begins to tingle. This must be what it feels like to ‘defy age’ and be ‘lifted’ by a three-figure product.Cologne that smells like a daisy has been mislabeled. Perfume. Express sends its propaganda of what a man should look like. I’ve seen thicker dental floss. Birchbox delivers a pair of ‘luxury’ headphones with ‘incredible sound’ that have the clarity of a singing pigeon after being hit by a runaway car. Try again, LSTN.
2015 roars to a beautiful start.
If I had to encapsulate 2014 into a single word, it would be a fight between “Goodbye” and “Beautiful” because there were a lot of experiences in the past year that dealt with both words. Goodbyes were given to a number of people, projects, clients, relationships and bad habits. Each of these was replaced with something far more wonderful and beautiful than the goodbye that was given.
Receiving a Facetime call at 3am from my brother in California. “We’re in this together, Aaron. I’m always here for you.” Seeing as how we are both in periods of transition into new opportunities, it was a reminder that miles of distance cannot get in the way of the love and support you can receive from family.
New beginnings and perspectives. I’ve seen beautiful things arise when you put yourself on the path to change your perspective. Granted, this path can sometimes feel like the never-stopping conveyor belt leading to a meat grinder. It always tends to turn at the last second and drop you into a calm place.
If I had to pick one single part of 2014 that stood above all others, it would be the shift that has taken place in the Plaat family. This past trip really solidified a lot of the changes that have happened over the past few years. As strange as it may sound, this was the first time in my entire life that I was able to appreciate the nuances that make our family diverse and special. It was a beautiful trip home.
Reading through a letter that a good friend of mine sent back in 2005, I was reminded of a very similar theme I’ve seen in my life; bringing out the ‘inner me’ that’s tucked away on the inside. With all of the mass marketing for products and lifestyles that try to merge the individual into a collective pool of dull conformity, I have been pulling back and consciously making an effort to bring the ‘real me’ to the table in all life situations. There’s little time to pad words. And a conference room full of partners appreciates hearing they have an ugly baby much more than hearing sweetened lies. I’ve thrown stones in glass houses and replaced the glass with tungsten.
2015 will be the single most successful year of my career. By the end of the year, I will have traveled the world (Mexico, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Bermuda, Grand Cayman Islands, Bali, Bora Bora, Peru, Fiji, Australia, Paris, New Zealand, or something to this effect) and changed the way in which I earn a living.
More than anything, 2015 is the year that I hold nothing back and step off the self-sacrificial altar of taking the bullet for the mistakes that were not mine to own.
Featured Image From Deviantart
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