Note: click on any picture in my blog to enlarge it.

Isn’t it odd that for all the long hours that seem to drag at work or while waiting for trains, we still can’t slow down time? In a blink of an eye another year has flashed by. For me, I’ve logged a ton of miles this year across a few continents, so 2008 has come and gone at warp speed. Yet it doesn’t really seem that out of the ordinary to me. But in categorizing pictures for this blog, I look back and feel very lucky (and tired!) to have been truly present in every step that I’ve taken this year.

My best friend from law school and I have a tradition of getting together annually to go over our list of goals for the coming year. You might call it new year’s resolutions, but for us it’s a “big picture” checklist. We reflect on the list from the year before and assess whether any unfinished tasks should be added to the new list. And then we read our new lists and defend our positions. It’s like a mock trial for Father Time.

For the last ten years or so my list has gotten shorter and shorter. It’s not that I’m done setting goals; I’ve just become more realistic. Every day already comes with its own set of goals so the main objective is to set a path for the entire year. The challenge is sticking to the roadmap when those daily hurdles conspire to throw you off the tracks.  As I’d indicated in an earlier blog, my path for 2009 is to appreciate more…

 

…and consume less:

 

 

For those of you who are going through hardships, may 2009 bring you more rose petal showers instead of rainy days:

 

If you are a cynic or feel the sky is falling, may you find some fairy dust in the world around you:

 

 

If you believe the world is a scary place and no one can be trusted, may you find unexpected laughter with total strangers:

 

For those of you courageous enough to choose to see this at the end of each day…

 

 

thanks for inspiring me to do this…

 

  

 

 

so that I can bring you more of the world next year:

 

 

Happy New Year everyone!