Things I Learned This Year

I've had this post running in my head for months now--let's see if I can actually remember what I was planning to say.

2012 has come and gone!  Even though the end came up suddenly, as it always does, this was one of those rare years where it actually felt like a year had passed.  It certainly had its highs and lows, like most years for most people, but overall I liked 2012.  I did a lot of thinking in 2012. Not that I don't usually, but my thinkings were a little more thoughtful this year for whatever reason.  Egads, is this a sign of aging??  Here are some of the conclusions I have reached this year that were especially relevant (to me):

--I don't need to be jealous of people.  This is not to say that I've previously been consumed with envy all the time, but, for example, when Facebook friends would go to England and post pictures, I couldn't look at them, because I was too jealous they were there and I wasn't.  At some point during the year, I finally had the obvious realization that there was no need to be jealous.  Why should I be upset over someone else having a turn to do something awesome, especially when it's something I myself have already done?  And even if it's something I haven't done or had myself, is that an excuse to mutter about it enviously?  I have my life, and everybody else has theirs.  They have their ups and downs, just like me.  I shouldn't and don't need to resent people for having a high that I want.  I have my own highs!

Two caveats: 1) I'm making a distinction between an all-consuming, soul-crushing, unproductive jealousy and the kind of jealousy that is more admiration, that draws motivation and inspiration from others.  That's cool, yo.  2) It's all well and good to have this thought, but putting it into practice is harder, I will admit.  But having the thought is the first step, right?

--Time passes.  No matter how unpleasant the circumstances of the day-to-day, the time goes by. That's all.

--Good things are hard.  This thought evolved from a number of things, and partly from my urge to complain, even when the cause of a difficulty was a good thing.  The more I thought about this thought nugget, the more I decided that, really, the best things are often hard.  Whether it's school, careers, relationships, finances, parenting, hobbies, fitness or whatever--even though they're good and you KNOW they're good, they can sometimes be really, really difficult.  What I'm saying is, while I think it's important to keep negative things in perspective, I'm not going to feel bad for feeling frustration or even resentment from time to time about something that's good but that is also making me crazy.  Sometimes all you need to keep going is a little recognition from someone else that, yes, the process is not always easy.  A little validation goes a long way!  As does some outside encouragement.  Of course, it's also helpful to try to see the good in the bad, count one's blessings, etc. etc. 

(Yes, I do often think about this when I'm barfing my breakfast [or lunch or dinner].  Throwing up is NEVER awesome.)

Of course I also learned other things in 2012, like the answers to questions like "What's a fibroid?", "How good is a chocolate quake cake?" and "Can The Office get any worse?"  After all this learnin', I have decided to learn NOTHING in 2013.  It's going to be a year of ignorance.  And, as Lady Bracknell would say, Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.