The Sum of It All

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost

Before diving into next year with a slew of the same unfulfilled resolutions, take a moment and look back at the year that has gone by. If you take photos on your phone, this is a great way to sum up a year quickly. As I looked at both my photos and my calendar, I am surprised at how surprised I am. It’s been a year.

February in Washington D.C. for work; March on a cruise; in Spring, my nephew graduated from college and my niece graduated from high school; my brother ran his first marathon; my niece ran her first half marathon; I trained all summer for my second marathon; back to DC in July with Emily; a summer of Sundays on the pontoon; chickens moved into the neighborhood, making walks with Molly and Lily an adventure in excitement everyday; an intense year at work with 27 website transitions in 8 months and an acquisition, etc… and life goes on, and on. And it does whether we recognize it or not.

If I thought too much about what was to come, I would have frozen in my tracks. We may make plans and some will work and others won’t. As Woody Allen observed, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” As much as we think we are in control, we are not. It’s not what we go through, but how we go through it. I passed on some fronts and failed on others, but humbly keep getting back up and trying to do and be better.

In the new year, my resolutions, more importantly, my promises to myself are to recognize the boundless gifts that are embedded in each day, to keep growing into the person I am meant to be and to give more than I receive. I can accomplish this through living a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle – running, eating well, faith, prayer, gratitude, compassion, choosing love over assumptions and judgment, light over shadow.

Life is made up of the sum of our decisions, actions and inactions each day. Choose well.