Happy Year of the Dog

I'm not sure I know what it means, but my calander told me this morning that 2006 is to be 'Year Of The Dog.' This is somewhat appropriate since the Dog Genome was recently sequenced, but obviously the timing could have been better had that discovery waited a few months. Regardless, it has been way too long since I've updated this, but it's not like anyone has been checking it anyway, so I guess I shouldn't care. But I did have a good friend give me a pumpkin bread recipe (see earlier postings).

2005 was an incredibly intense and complex year for me. I'll spare the details, as much of the details are too personal for the public forum. But in sum, it was a transition year. Or better, a reconstruction year. Old foundations were completely demolished and restructured. The glory in this toil is the confidence that my new life structure will be better than the old. Change is hard, but for someone like myself who is constantly searching -- exploring -- for The Human Experience, change is growth. And, unless you're a tumor, growth is good. There is nothing novel or profound about this statement; rather, it's that the weight of the statement is now understood. I have completely reconstructed relationships, beliefs, and perspectives, all of which are very heavy stones in a very human house. I look forward to 2006 as a year of refinement (after, of course, my coming bouts with lots and lots of dogs). I don't think anyone has the capacity to tolerate constant change, nor should they. Refinement is focus -- clarity -- and right now 2005 remains as a tenacious hangover. And so, like everything else, I am at the mercy of time. Patience will be required to allow refinement of the profound changes I experienced in 2005. And in a paradoxical way, NOT working at achieving this coveted focus is likely to yield the clearest picture. Some things are tarnished by effort; they are, in a sense, live entities in themselves that must prosper on their own. 2005 is one of those entities for me and will require time to mature. So I wait in anticipation for 2006. Like the product of a genetic code, a year's product is an amalgam of elements you can and cannot control. And since probability is required to give you as many deleterious as beneficial uncontrolled elements, utilizing even the smallest amount of controllable elements in your favor is bound to lead to a mostly good year. How's that for an analytical approach!

I hope all of you find at least some good reflections in 2005; may 2006 embrace your best ambitions.

Happy New Year!