Unoriginal thoughts on 36.

As 36 approaches my realizations are mostly unoriginal but meaningful nonetheless.

First, a sharper awareness of the unending power of gratitude.

Second, how good giving feels and remembering that it should feel that way.

This sounds very basic but when you are unknowingly conditioned to believe that only suffering and struggle lead to good things, some days it feels like I’m on this purposeful hunt for things to be difficult.

I don’t want to live like that and I can’t, now that I know.

I still want to know what it feels like to do things without guilt or shame — for myself, for others, for strangers, for people who simply aren’t expecting it.

I’d like to continue to learn more about what it feels like to receive, to accept love and help as much as I offer it.

Third, in just this last year alone I’ve discovered that there is still so much for me to know about being consciously present, and that the beauty of honing one’s presence is that it begins to architect a natural acuity for locating the lessons in every happening almost instantly.

I believe it’s this acuity that keeps our evolution healthily lit.

My plans for 36 involve learning how to forgive myself, exploring how I can be of service to others in a way that is fulfilling and unselfish, and uncovering more of the softness about me that I used to share more frequently and without thinking twice.

I hope that by this time next year, I’ll have more stories to tell because I’ll know more about how I came to be and why I’m here.

Most of all, I hope that I carry myself with delicacy and compassion the whole way there.