quarter century

this year i have decided my obligatory birthday moment of reflection will be more about resolutions for the future than ramblings about another year past. i started my day with a run in the dinosaur dash 5k; a beautiful 3.1 miles of autumn reflection, then noon mass at st john. surprisingly, the gospel (mark 9:38-48) and fr mark's always excellent homily totally cemented this year's birthday resolution. it's time i got back to being the person i thought i am; living and acting the way i always thought i did. admittedly, this sounds really bizarre. but think about it. we all have some kind of self image but if we slip away from that little by little, pretty soon we're not who we thought we were. me? i've slipped pretty far. a 5k run, today's gospel, and fr mark's homily all reinforced something i already knew; i haven't been acting like who i want to be and i have the power to stop!! all i have to do is start acting, thinking, speaking, living like the person i am. (1) i'm going to cut out all these negative relationships in my life; stop giving my time and energy to people who aren't helping me achieve my best self. (2) i'm going to turn some of my shallow, fluff relationships into truer, more meaningful friendships. (3) i'm going to remember why i'm proud to have grown up catholic, why it's important to attend mass every week, and start acting accordingly. (4) i'm going to restore my balanced lifestyle of equal growth physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. i've drifted into a void. a void where i've lost sight of all the things that used to make me who i am. it's about damn time i got back to those fundamental values and practices, shook off the complacency, and started taking positive steps towards a fuller, more vibrant, well rounded mike. year 26 of my life is the perfect year for such an adventure.