I woke up the other day and saw that people were upset and concerned about Haiti. Something had happened. Something big. I didn’t know what that thing was as I am without cable and refuse to partcipate in any sort of news program other than mindless celebrity drivel. (Everyone needs to know who let a nip slip and who is dating who and where some rich singer is acting crazy currently, don’t you think?). For me it’s a brief escape, I usually feel sainer having seen what the other half are doing and you know what the best part is? The story list doesn’t look like this: Murder, Murder, Fire, Murder, Death, Distruction, Mayhem, Doom, Murder.  I can’t stand that. It’s depressing. It’s not really giving me all the facts, only the ones that look negative and can be sensationalized and cause people to panic unnecessarily.

So I dug around a bit. Massive earthquake. Not cool. Luckily a facebook friend whom I had the privledge of going to high school with is very active in forming a campaign to send aid to Haiti. He’s been updating his status constantly and I feel informed in a postive way. Instead of hearing about how horrific the devistation is (which I’m sure it is and am in no way making light of) I get the positive end.. I get to hear what people are doing about it.

I also came across this link from {Bits of Beauty} where they kind of break it all down realistically for you while still urging you to give if you wish to do so. It’s a very good article. They preface it by saying “You might not like what I’m about to say” but honestly.. it’s well worth a read and I feel it has truth painted all over it.

It fills me with such hope that through just text messaging (the bane of our civilization according to some Oldsters) has raised 7 million dollars through 5 and 10 dollar donations. That’s mind blowing. That’s amazing. That’s the kind of inspiration in your fellow man that can move you to tears.

I urge everyone, if you have the 5 bucks to spare, spare it. Who knows the lives you may touch and help to save. You could be donating money to the person who will eventually cure cancer, create a new energy source, or save the world.

The possibilities are endless. 

I love this time of year and I also hate it a little bit. I love that the new year brings with it resolutions, new attitudes and that it all just feels so brand new. It feels unspent and like you have a clean new slate to fill up with all kinds of good things.

I hate this time of year because it’s so cold and bleak here. The landscape is usually white and frosty, the trees are bare. The days are gray and the majority of the day (when it’s sunny out) is spent inside.

Today I returned back to the real world of working and going to school and within the first twenty minutes of being at my desk I read an email I received that normally would have upset me and threatened to shatter the vacation serenity that I possessed. I hate getting emails about things that I need to do that I’m already aware of but aren’t needed for X amount of weeks or months. If I had a habit of forgetting things like this then I could certainly understand the reminders, but I don’t.

Instead of getting all bothered, annoyed and grumpy though I took a step back and realized that it is simply this person’s need. It was this person’s OCD. It was their need to be right and point out some imaginary and perceived flaw that didn’t exist. It wasn’t about me at all. So I simply pointed out that I hadn’t forgotten, when the item was good until (next month) and that I’d make sure it was done by the end of the week. And then I did it today.

In that moment I realized that this isn’t my forever. It is that person’s forever and that’s kind of sad. But it’s not mine. I don’t know how long it will be mine, but I do know that eventually it won’t be mine any longer and in that I took great comfort and was able to let the annoying email slide away.

I think my main resolution (and there is certainly a long list of things that I’d like to accomplish this year) will be to hold onto that vacation serenity. That freshness you get when you go away and come home and have to go back to monotony. I want to wrap it around myself like a big teflon blanket so that everyone’s negativity just slides off.

This will be a very hard resolution to keep but one that will certainly be well worth the effort.