An Occasional Newsletter
Wow, it’s 2023! Aren’t we supposed to have flying cars and floating cities by now? 🙂
I hope you had a wonderful Holiday season. I disconnected in a major way and chased the sunshine which was a pretty big challenge this past month. No matter how far south I went it seemed that the cold weather was following me. I managed to find that big yellow ball in the sky for a few days along with a couple days of high 70’s. So overall, I call it a success and I call it Joy. Even the cold rainy days stuck indoors were joyful with an opportunity to reflect, dream, and plan.
At the same time I learned that a very dear friend of mine will be battling cancer in 2023 for who knows how long. Not something I wanted in the new year and certainly not what I would wish for him. If you or anyone in your life is struggling with a disease you have my good thoughts and energy. Please send yours into the universe for my friend and everyone else with these challenges.
This news and the number of years I have spent in this journey on this rock has me thinking alot about mortality. As a student of Stoicism I do this often with “Memento Mori” tattooed on my arm. it simply means “Remember you must die.” Sounds a little morbid? It’s not meant to be. It’s about living your life right now, in this moment because the next moment is not guaranteed. Also tattooed on my arm is “Amor Fati” meaning “Love of One’s Fate.” Combined I find these two concepts from as far back as 300 BCE as incredible sources of gratitude, peace of mind, stability, resilience, and well-being.
Along with “This Week’s Quote” below I want to share another quote I believe sums up the combination of Momento Mori and Amor Fati. You can find this quote attributed to Anthony Hopkins, Richard Gere, Nanea Hoffman, and even occasionally to Keanu Reeves. I will let you decide who you think it should truly be attributed to. My guess is that although the verbiage may be slightly different you will find this same concept dating back to the Stoics if not further.
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.
~You decide
I will be spending the next few weeks focused on habits I and many others have found helpful in creating well-being and Joy in this Journey. I am certainly not saying anything that hasnt been said for centuries and you don’t necessarily have to adopt all of the habits to improve your journey. My list is aggregated to nine main habits. There are certainly many more but I believe you can most likely categorize each of them somewhere within these nine. As always I am mostly writing to myself. I feel that in some small way I have adopted each of these habits but I have certainly not mastered them so as I research and write these posts I am both working to improve my journey while also reminding myself of the Joy these habits can bring. I hope you will join me. You can find the first two posts in this series linked below..
If we have been connected for any amount of time you know that I believe that every month, every week, every day, every single moment is a “New Year.” A new opportunity to change. A new opportunity to pursue that dream you have had since you were a child. A new opportunity to work on stopping that bad habit. A new opportunity to start that new habit to instill Joy In Your Journey. A new opportunity to be grateful for this very moment. So, I won’t say Happy New Year because the Gregorian calender says it is. I will say Happy New You because that is what this and every moment brings and I wish it to be a happy one for you.
The Habits for Well-Being Series
The Last List of “Habit of Successful People” You Will Ever Need
Why you should never discount the role luck has played in your success
This Week’s Quote
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
~Seneca the Younger
Wishing you health, happiness, and prosperity,
Michael