New Year's Reservations: Table for 2...011

Perhaps it's just me whose feeling strange about writing those numbers: 2011. It began with '2000' and it felt like the world needed to be seen flying in cars, and rotating rooms, and escalators in high-rise buildings. That's my Jetson cartooned imagination working itself overtime as I prepare myself for a new year and another journey of challenges. I don't do predictions and as for resolutions? Well, that's being resolved.

So what's left to say about 2010? It was a probable year. And by probable, I mean it didn't have to happen, but it did because I chose it. But I could have made other choices as well. Anyway.... It was a year of many ups & downs, highs & lows, hits & misses. It was the year I celebrated a Thankgivings birthday with a lot of wishes. It was the Year of the Tiger that added 7 cats to the household. It was the year that I was accepted into graduate school. It was the year of healing and dealing with changes in a world. It was the year I left my full-time job working with youth only to return as a contractor in the fall. That was one of the best feelings in the world. It was a year of more and more Facebooking and adding friends. It was a year of seeing & speaking to family & friends. It was a year of financial worries and meeting daily ends. It was a year of crop circle music dreams, lavender oils and fragrant creams. It was a year of leaks & spills, geeks & freaks, droids & pads, multiple births, and cheating dads.

It was a year of changing the channels in my life, creating my own network of dreams. Yeah, 2010 was a different kind of dish I ordered on the menu. It was difficult to swallow in the beginning but in the end it was the perfect meal.

And so I have reservations again for 2..011. But this time, can we have the sturdy table or a noiseless booth? Clean silverware with knives sharp as a razortooth? Can we get the section with soft earthly colors of browns, vanillas, and blues? And surround sound with wordless music like jazz or the blues? And the smells of homemade recipes, and exotic teas? Can we have the lights turned down a bit while I stare into her eyes as I sit? Can we also get the service this time with no hurry and pay our bill without the worry? Oh! Can we please get a peace of mind and enjoy our time?

Perhaps you will join me this year with trust and good cheer? I have prepared a wonderful occasion for us all. What will you order? Oh, what will it be? A different kind of meal, gourmet, elegant, a culinary fantasy? Or will it be the usual, your favorite, or the daily special? They have the 'create-your-own' entrees, and the best appetizers, but no superdeals or supersizers.

But you asked for something different? I know, I know but not toooo strange. Something that's magical & charming, yet a tiny bit re-arranged. Okay this may sound deranged and even insane. That's why I'm asking you to join me for a change.

Everything is paid for and everything you need is there. Are you ready to go? And do you even care? Maybe you do and maybe you don't. I will go regardless even if you won't. You have a whole new year to choose, and live as you please. I told the waiter you will be coming soon, but in the meantime, I will order a bottle of champagne and cheese!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!!!!

The American Fistbump : Thoughts On Living In Absurd Times

I don't who was the first person I did it with. I know it was with a guy not a woman. The fistbump. You know what it is. Its become an American way of communicating with everyone and everything. And it happened overnight. Even Obama and Michelle did it during the elections. But lately I've been growing weary and suspicious of my own conditioning and how I arrived at this place of 'fistbumping.' And thus, my feeling that I live in absurd times but that's only the surface.

"Reality." That word that has been exploited so easily by media entities and used to attract our attention these days. And 'they' have done an almost perfect job. Sort of. Is it me? Is it the aging? I don't think so. Even though I consider myself observant, there is much that I miss. And for good reason. There is a part of me that doesn't care. Or a lot of this stuff in our culture has nothing to do with me. And yet I can't seem to escape from it like the American Fistbump.

Call me boring. Call me too serious. Call me lame. But there is more to 'reality' than a TV show. I just think what's happening 'inside' of me is more interesting than what's out there but you won't see any cameras in my home. Too much peace, too much awareness, too much knowing here, and too many cats. Sorry.

And no, I'm not a hermit. I live around people. I don't live in the mountains. I work with kids. I enjoy going out to eat. I enjoy shopping. I enjoy hanging out. I go to the casino, and occasionally, that ominous place called 'the club.' And I enjoy having an occasional drink. My friends know me better. They know me as a thinker, a reader, a healer, a counselor, a writer, a coach, an actor, but above all else someone who revels and explores the unknown reality. That's just my nature. So I do love learning from others, hearing their ideas, and even supporting people in working through their life challenges. So I do get out and 'shop' for experiences, collecting psychic artifacts for my later reflections, and depositing my adventures into the bank of memory. I'm hip to the script, but slow to flow, and sink to think inside an ocean of silent dreamy.

It's how I survive these days-and maybe have always. I felt the absurdity of reality as a kid but I went along with it as children are taught. But adults can be scary to children and so kids learn to keep silent and hide their impulses, desires, and feelings until they get older, and remember their own authority. Well, at least I did. And now as an adult, I see the times have become even more absurd. And by absurd, I mean irrational, ridiculous, realities that can come from the human imagination.

What happened? How did our world become so absurd? And how can we survive these times? Maybe you are someone who lives a quiet life, free of drama, free of this absurd, yet you are a neighbor to others whose lives are chaotic, cluttered and filled with ridiculous excursions into self-aggrandizements and petty disturbances. Maybe you work with people and groups whom you perceive as engaged in the ridiculous cartoon of daily life and you are easy to flow with those kind of realities. Or maybe your life is a roller coast ride of exciting adventures, and explorations. Only you know...

For instance, in the schools, things are becoming crazy for our kids who are acting out anyway they can. I am witness to the things say to kids and my heart drops every time, these teacher police the children. I heard a male teacher threatened a female student, probably in 2nd or 3rd grade, and I was struck by the injustice. It was ridiculous. And part of me silently wished this teacher would get a taste of his own medicine. But I'm not too quick to interfere for I'm a visitor and not a staff member. And I don't want you to wait for superman. You know the fire drill.

But its not just the schools. It's the crap you see on TV and the Hollywood movies that I have realized have nothing to do with my daily world, here in small town Santa Fe. I saw a preview for a new romantic comedy with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman and then it hit me: the stories of a lot of these movies have nothing to do with me. And then I got it. It wasn't just the movies that are out there and their subjects, I began to realize so much that's been shoved in my face have nothing to do with me: sports, religion, music, TV, movies, etc. And that brought an empty feeling. I was faced with my shadow: a reality of the absurd.

So where does that leave someone like me? How can I survive this kind of reality? Let me share with you what works for me...

1. Accept your reality as valid. Your life is valid as much as Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, and Will Smith. Even if you are waiting tables, sweeping poop off the floor, or sitting at home like a bum, your life is important.

2. Don't let yourself get stuck with labels. Even though I call it 'absurd' I know it has a purpose. It has been put in front of me for a reason. It's a part of my belief system and beliefs are not facts. I can change my ideas tomorrow. And that's refreshing.

3. Turn it off.-for now. I'm not advocating any resistance to the absurd as much as noticing it. What's important is your world AND the world of co-creation. The greatest invention is the Remote Control and that includes my own mind, the original RC. Changing our thoughts is changing the channel in our minds. You can always make a nostalgic return.

4. Your life is its own reality show. Being hip doesn't mean just knowing the latest news/fads/gossip times but being hip to your inner self is just as cool as being hip to what's 'out there.' Your inner world of dreams, thoughts, and desire has as much value as the news, knowledge, and information of AOL, CNN, and all the news networks combined.

5. Use the absurdity of our times as focal points of heightened awareness. What this means is this: an absurd world is meant to be a reference point for learning about ourselves but it is not the end of times as much as an awakening to the times. It's a peculiar way for mankind to shift into another gear of spiritual growth & development. It's the quickening where billions of people have the greatest opportunity for accelerated growth and development through witnessing multiple life experiences and challenges.

Ask yourself this: In what ways are some of the things in your life absurd? Your community? Workplace? Relationships? How can use the energy of the absurd to align yourself in rapid changing times?

The fistbump is here today. Gone tomorrow. So what's absurd in many ways has become a way of life. Then on to the 'next best thing'.

Maybe tomorrow we will greet each other with "The Knuckle Pop." Who knows? You decide...