Change is good.

2004 was an incredible time to make changes. There was something that just felt right about making moves, taking chances and not being afraid to step out there and take risks. This trend has obviously continued into 2005...

Not only personally, but I've witnessed people close to me have children, get engaged, move cities, and generally take steps that they didn't see themselves taking a year ago. I'm saying all this to tell you that it isn't too late for change. There is still something kinda magical going around that has created this feeling of movement. Not urgency, but movement... it may be side to side or it may be in circles, but we can no longer stand still.

A lot of people don't like movement. They would much rather stay comfortable in their spot and not rock the boat, not challenge themselves, and have learned that there is a place in this world for them, they've found it and are content to be there. That is fine, however, if you are into movement, you can't let these people hold you back. Yes, to you they may seem complacent, but they may merely be comfortable or have already found that they already have the things that matter to them. But be war of the people who try to hold you back and keep you from moving forward. You'll know who these people are once you begin to try to make moves.

The people who doubt you, who feel the need to inflict their feelings on you, who choose to focus on and point out what they feel were mistakes from your past as evidence of incompetence, don't have the ability to see how much you learned from those past experiences. There are no such things as mistakes, these are merely opportunities gone wrong that we make the choice to build and learn from and move forward. Someone condeming your past is not only ignorant because of their lack of individual and emotional involvement in the situation but rude because of the ass-umption that they somehow know what's better for you than you do. (or better yet, claim to have known then, but are just getting around to telling you)

The people who care the most about you will embrace you despite your idiosyncracies and despite the decisions you make. They'll also tell you when you're fucking up, but in a way that allows you to understand a friend's concern not in a way that condems you and your decisions. These people understand that you embrace your past experiences and will continue to love every part of them despite where you are today.

So make those changes in 2005. Moving forward doesn't mean forgetting or ignoring your past, but building on it in such a way that you grow and gain strength from those experiences and see them as empowering rather than as burdens.

It's almost June, and that will be the halfway point to evaluate how much progress we've made on our annual goals from the beginning of the year, so we all have about 6 weeks to do 6 months worth of work in order to make it seem like we're about half way to our goals. So lets get moving!

~C

CD of the moment: Various Artists - "Atlantiquity"