The Year of The Nina

Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash

It's the end of the year. So I suppose it's time to reflect on what has happened and what is yet to happen. It has definitely been an interesting year. I spent a lot of this year not writing.

I think that may be part of the reason I had a lot of depression this year. I read a study in The New York Times about how writing in a journal can not only dramatically improve your mood but also your immune system and your overall health.

There is something about letting it all out that is a wonderful catharsis. This blog is a sort of public journal. It forces me to organize my thoughts and really contemplate my life. Reflection can really improve your state of mind.

We don't always want to face the stark reality of life. To look at it with a magnifying lens. But there is something very rewarding about doing that. I am unhappy when I don't notice my life.

I think that the most important thing for me to look at when I think about this past year is what I am grateful for. It starts very small, I'm grateful for having a roof over my head when it is freezing outside.

I'm grateful that I have many good solid friends. Not everyone has people in their lives that they can trust and also have fun with. I am a social person, but I think I'm an extrovert/introvert. If I don't have time to sit by myself and write etc. I get very irritable and uncomfortable.

I'm grateful that I know what I want to do with my life. That I have a feeling of purpose. I want to write and teach. I am lucky I am able to do what I want with my life. I'm not stuck in some dead-end job that I hate. I'm not forced to do slave labor.

I'm serious, there are many people in the world who are forced to do very arduous manual labor or even those who are forced into sex slavery. I have it good. Of course, I always have something to complain about, but the truth is, in many respects, I have it all.

It is a wonderful feeling to comprehend how much one has in life. Think about all that you have, not what you don't have, for a moment. Oprah says that gratitude work is the single most important spiritual practice in her life.

I am grateful to have an audience that cares about what I have to say. I'm truly blessed to have the ability and opportunity to relay my thoughts in such a public forum. I get to talk to the entire world. It's kind of freeing in a way.

But I must be honest. There is much about my life that I don't share on this blog. I am still not comfortable talking about my real struggle with weight loss and some other issues I have in my life.

But I am so grateful to say with real honesty that I'm happy. I don't have everything in life that I want. I don't have some very important things in life yet that I want. However, I'm moving in the right direction and am happy with what I have so far and what the future holds.

Photo by Adrien King on Unsplash

I dare you to take a moment to think about what is good in your life. I know there is always good. You may be very unhappy about certain things that are going on. But what can you do to change them? How can you better yourself. You are lucky to be able to even think that you can improve your life.

Nothing is permanent. Not even your happiness. Be grateful that you have the ability to smile. The ability to walk. The ability to think rational thoughts. We are all lucky. Lucky to be alive. As hard as life can be, there is something profound and meaningful about life when you appreciate it.

We are a society and a world that likes to complain. When we talk to our friends, it is often to vent about what is going wrong in our lives. We rarely talk to each other about what we are grateful for. Try that. Next time you are upset by something, think of something else that you can be happy about.

Most of life is not about what happens but what you think about what happens. This is your story. You get to write it. You can highlight all the negative and make your story sound like a tragedy. Or you can notice the beautiful and good in your life and make it a positive tale.

It's how we spin our stories that really matters. How do we see what has happened so far, what lens do we look at it from? What is our perception of our reality? Our personal experience of what is happening in our lives defines who we are. But our experience is not based on what actually is happening, it is about how we process and think about what is happening. How we feel about it.

We can be in charge of how we think about our own personal stories and how we feel about them. I could look at my life as a comedy or a tragedy or a drama that is both.

Life has no meaning except the meaning we give it. We say whether it is wonderful or horrible. We get to decide. I'm gonna stick with thinking that life is a great adventure and I'm only begining to experience its wonder.

I am grateful to have the ability to wonder.

nina