A list to end the year...

I know it's such a cliche, but I'm amazed how fast this year has flown by.

Last year, I was at my friend Tim's house, about to become a homeowner, start up a masters program, continue my work at the newspaper and flee the troubles of 2005.

This Sunday will find me at my friend Jason's house, which is down the street from my friend Tim's house, happy to no longer be a homeowner, be knee-deep in my master's program, no longer work at the newspapers and struggle to fully embrace the uncertainty of 2006.

I suppose one of the key elements of the M.A.Y.A. Years is this process of discovery. There are two questions that have to be asked and answered:
1. Who am I?
2. What am I going to do about it?

I am now fully convinced that once you come up with an answer, you realize how much it really doesn't suffice.

I used to be gung-ho about figuring out what exactly happening during the course of a year and creating resolutions for the new year. Last year, I even had a theme "Breathe and be." I think I accomplished that in some ways, and barely began to start in other ways.
This year, I don't want to set any goals. However, that's not gonna happen. I'm a goal-oriented person, whether I admit it or not. I need goals, challenges, dreams to keep going. My quarterlife crisis hasn't been not having something to strive for...it's been figuring out which thing to cross off the list first.

Nevertheless, one thing that did stick out this year that I want to keep with me. 2006 saw the story of the George Mason men's basketball team. Their rise to the Final Four was nothing short of amazing.
I read an article about the coach, Jim Larranga in the L.A. Times. In the story, the coach was talking about his team philosophy and how he got there. He talked about levels of commitments and being a real team. He spoke of meeting his mentor often and sharing the pages upon pages of "stuff" he had on basketball.
His mentor would eventually tell him that all the pages and pages were simply not needed. In the end, one only needs one page of "stuff" to coach basketball. Everything else is everything else.
So, Larranga set up to create one page worth of essentials. It took him about two years, but once it was done, he said he had a peace of mind and a clear philosophy about how to coach.

I have to say this article really affected me. I keep hearing that you know what you know when you know it. Everything else is everything else. Is this really true?
So, this year, I started this one page. What are the absolute essentials that I need to live a good life (in addition to salvation and such). Here's what I got so far:

Despite my hesitations, or maybe because of my hesitations, I do believe that God is a loving Being.
I believe that I am a good person.
My outlook of life and all that it entails depends solely on me. I alone provide the lenses upon which I see the world.
God and I are the only two beings that get to define who I am.
Life consists of forces and beings; this interaction creates connection and chaos. Because of this, I make choices, and choices make me. Some things can be attributed to God, other things are attributed to the forces of life.
I believe that I am a spiritual being having a human experience, not a human being having a spiritual experience. My spirit is the “key” to me.
I have an inherent need to connect with other people, and this inherent need must be nourished and fulfilled. My dual consciousness--having a strong self that is connected to others – demands my highest priority.
The real world is the world I make real.
The future, like the past, is a manifestation of now. The past is now memories, and the future is entrenched with expectation. I am living in the present, and the future is open and undefined. I trust the freedom of the spirit, which I believe comes from God, to open and unveil the future.
I know what I know when I know it.
I believe in Christ, and his message of redemption and hope. I claim Christ as my Savior, knowing my relationship with Christ is spirit to spirit.
I know that the truth is in the shifting middle: the endpoints are constantly moving, the middle point is quite vast, with huge pockets of undefined clarity yet to be discovered and revealed.
I know that time is a string of pearls, or a moving train, or some other metaphor. In essence, time is how I perceive it. Moments provide opportunities for life to occur. It is in those moments where life truly exists.

I do realize that this is very philosophical and such. I guess that's the foundation that's needed.
So, in leaving 2006 and looking forward to the new Year, the M.A.Y.A. Years (well, at least me) is calling on you, dear reader, for advice. What should I add? Take away? Any good ideas for this new year and enjoying the time of the Middle Aged Young Adult?

Anyways, may the New Year be one of greatness, fruitfulness and joy.

Tis the season for more postings...

But that will have to wait for just a bit longer.

Nevertheless, Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the M.A.Y.A. Years!

Life is in the coffee...

This comes from my friend Jamie. Very, very cool stuff.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of
coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. After all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

"If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress."

"Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it 'it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups...and then began eyeing each
other's cups."

"Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. God brews the coffee, not the cups ... enjoy your coffee."

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, It means you've
decided to see beyond the imperfections

Live in peace and peace will live in you.

Worry doesn't help tomorrow's troubles, but it does ruin today's happiness.

Barely afloat in a river of academia...

I am about six pages short of being done with this semester.

If anything, I learned that I shouldn't put off for tomorrow what I can do the day after.

Anyways, sorry for the lack of consistent posts. Both Linterella and I are swamped, but soon, we should return with more holiday M.A.Y.A. goodness.