It's been quite some time since I've written anything new. The holidays are always such a busy time that it tends to get tough to be able to get my day to day done, let alone getting a new blog post up! That being said, tomorrow is New Years Eve, and my first thought is, "Where the hell did the time go?" This year has been truly a whirlwind in both good ways and in bad. As most of us do around the new year, I've begun to sit and reflect on the last twelve months. I feel as though I'm able to do that a little better than most this year, and it's all because of the 365 Project.
The project is really simple: You take one photo a day for an entire year, and post it to social media. I'm sure many of you reading this have seen me posting my daily pictures. You may have liked, commented, or even been a part of some of these photos. If you haven't seen them and would like to you can check out the album here. My project only has two days left, so I've finally sat down and gone through every single picture. When I say I went through them I mean I REALLY went through them. I checked out the comments, and the likes, and really gave each photo some time and thought to take myself back to those moments as best as I could. Along the way some key things kept sticking out to me.
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| A small sampling of my photos |
First of all the experience was very humbling. At first glance you might think it would be something that was more narcissistic. I mean the photos are all about you and your life. Hell, most of the photos have you in them! Because of this it's very easy to have that association with the project, as social media is very much a "Me, Me, Me" type of thing, at least in this writer's opinion. Yet, when I looked back on these photos of the last year of my life I just kept thinking "This is bigger than me." It makes me feel like a small fish in a big pond, which to me is a good quality to have. It cements in me the understanding that my life isn't any more/less profound than anyone else that I know. Having that realization brings me to my next point.
Looking back on my own experiences has caused me to think about others experiences, and by others I mean family and friends. We so quickly rush to judgement or have an opinion in today's day and age. Trust me, I'm just guilty as the next person with this, but this process has caused me to slow my roll and think about the year that others have had. This is a part of that humbling experience, because it has forced me to put myself in other people's shoes. We all have our own battles, struggles, and achievements that make us who we are. It's actually pretty neat to think everyone has their own individual path that has brought them to where they are today. I've always been an overly analytical person, and you could easily argue that this blog post is a prime example of that (haha), but this over analysis has brought other things to the surface for me as well that I think are beneficial.
Mainly I would say that the process of looking back has been both joyful and cathartic. By that I mean that the photos remind me of good times and bad times. Life is no fairytale. I've head great moments of triumph and fun, and I've had moments of failure where I needed to take a good hard look in the mirror, as both a man and as a husband . The trick is being able to take all of these moments, whether pleasant or shitty, and grow from them. That's really the key word in all of this: Growth. Life is a total roller coaster, and sometimes you can put your arms in the air and smile, while other times you have to just hold on tight and make it through. The sooner you understand this and just embrace all of it then the easier life tends to flow. I always cringe around New Years when I see people post things on social media about "New Year, New Me". I cringe because this implies to me that you want to change every single thing about yourself, which to me is unrealistic. Instead, I prefer the term, "New Year, Positive Growth". It doesn't sound as cute as the latter, but for me it's something realistic to strive for. I want to take all of my experiences and grow towards being a better person than I was the last 365 days.
The other big takeaway I have is something that my sister says quite often, which is "My attitude is gratitude". The 365 photos from my project are all examples of blessings in my life. A wonderful family, incredible friends, food to eat, a roof over my head, falling short, times of struggle (yes, those are blessings too!) At the end of the day I'm just thankful I wake up each and every day with the ability to experience every single piece of it. It makes me feel like lucky, as well as the most overused word in the English language "blessed".
So with that, I will end this long, over analytic, end of the year rant. It's worth noting that I by no means have everything in life figured out, but hopefully if you're reading this you can relate to at least a small part of what I'm putting out there. Then again, even if you don't that's really ok too. Because for me the writing process of this blog is much like the 365 Project has been for me, both joyful and cathartic, or literary therapy as I call it. If you happen to still be reading this I am offering up a challenge to you. Try the 365 Project out, and see where it takes you. You just might be pleasantly surprised...
Cheers to healthy and prosperous 2015 to all of you!
