Count It All Joy

hello everyone.

it has been some time since we last spoke. i bet you guys are wondering what i've been doing all that time. well, to answer your question, i've been busy with all the normal stuff. work. school. walking past fitness center windows with a Five Guys burger in one hand and in the other a sign with an arrow pointing to the burger reading "You really chose free weights over this?"

you know, the usual.

but as this year draws to a close, i join millions of my fellow americans in taking inventory of my life and figuring out what i need to do to improve upon the design in the coming year. but if you're anything like me, such an undertaking is rather depressing......okay, really depressing.

why?

because the last few years have ended and begun in almost exactly the same way with me doing the same thing. infact, i believe my last blog post pertained to this as well. but this time, i would like to slant things in a bold new direction. the problem wasn't as much what was happening but more what i chose to focus on.

unless you're a member of the tea party, you have far too good of an idea of what economic hardship is. it is not a new concept. but while i spent so much time focusing on all that was wrong in my life, i was watching the good pass me by.

there is so much good in all of us that the hardship of daily life blinds us from. when your girlfriend or boyfriend made you laugh. the one time you seized an opportunity to make someone's day better. whatever it is, its lost in us thinking we are failures for not doing the things we set out to do so long ago.

so do me a favor. this christmas season, hug the ones you love. you affect them in ways you may never fully be cognizant of. but these people are the reminders of the good in and around you. this christmas, thank them for the gifts shared for somewhere the same blessing will not befall a young child. this christmas, take time to remember that this holiday is more than just getting that iPod touch. Its about the lives you touch. It's about those who have touched you. Its not meant to celebrate your failure, but all you've done right. and at the end you will see that those successes are the ones that really matter.

i love all of you for reading this and putting up with my ranting about everything and nothing. you can be sure there will be more to come next year.

God Bless You All and Have a Safe and Wonderful Holiday Season!!!!

Mike