35: Whimsy, Philosophy and Challenge

Today I’m 35 years old. The number wouldn’t mean much except that I find myself looking for cues and excuses to help facilitate change – and multiples of 5 are great targets for imposing significance.

Sunday I read a blog post by a friend of mine which he titled “#Facebook4Fatties” – a hashtag I can’t personally get behind, which is why I created my own hashtag for funsies.

The message of his blogpost was something I could get behind. To expand on the theme, it’s about finding the right balance: What are you willing to give up, what aren’t you, and what are you willing to add to become a better (healthier) you?

My twitterfeed fed me another gem on Monday, an e.e. cummings quote about being “nobody but” yourself:

Which seems like such a significant something to keep in mind, especially after most of us have had decades of others’ expectations heaped upon us.  It’s a continual fight not just to be yourself, but to figure out who the hell that is.

So yesterday, I made a decision to stop being concerned with the things I can’t control. I took a walk after eating my lunch (1.4 miles according to the RunKeeper app – not bad, I was shooting for 1.5). I drank my Mexican Coke. I came home and had pizza and a cupcake with my daughter. And I drank an organic beer.

A lot of this is just reinforcing ideas I’ve already chosen to pursue, but committing them to pixels can be another kind of reinforcement.

Hey, I’m getting older. It’s about time I figured out how best to treat myself. I suspect that’ll be a theme for the rest of my days.

Have a happy day.