The Cowtown Chronicles

It’s here. I’m not sure exactly what I’m supposed to expect when the year ticks over. It’s kind of a feeling like you have on your birthday when you’ve survived another year, but you don’t feel any older.

I’m really looking forward to this year, though.

I had to dig back a long way in the archives of this site to find a post about new years and resolutions. Notice that I didn’t make a resolution, I set goals. I still think that’s the way to go, even though I wouldn’t say that I achieved the goals I outlined in that post, probably because they were too general. (Except that I didn’t do too bad about the sustainable thing. We consolidated down to one vehicle and started using public transit more. I still drive to work too often, but that ends this year.)

Here are my goals for 2009 (in no particular order):

• Lose 40 lbs. That’s 3.3 lbs. a month — a healthy and reasonable amount.
• Post here at least once a week.
• Build up a $3,000 emergency fund.
• Pay off my credit cards. (I have 3 left, about $10,800. This should be achievable with our new plan. I’ll post more about that later.)
• Live the motto “Life is Good.”

Totally achievable. This time I’ll post monthly updates. Hold me to it.

Some of you probably recognize the Kenny Chesney lyric in the title of this post. I didn’t until about a week ago.

Since my trip to visit Jenna’s dad in St. Croix, I’ve had a lot of time to think about not only what life’s all about, but also what REALLY matters in the grand scheme of things.

What I’ve figured out is that everyone decides for themselves what constitutes happiness.

I know that sounds like a cop-out, but it’s true. I think that eventually everyone will have their “ah ha!” moment, during which they’ll figure out what it is that’s most important to them.

For some people, that will be working their asses off to make a name for themselves, garner world-wide renown, and be “famous.”

For others, it will be to have as many kids as they can and to pass their values and worldview on through them.

For me, though, I think that it is to enjoy every day that comes to me and to be thankful for the opportunities I’ve had and the things that I’m surrounded with.

I’m not wealthy, I’m not beautiful. I’m not a talented singer, writer, musician, or actor.

And that’s okay.

I do the best I can; I work a job that’s not going to change the world directly, but I hope that I can help someone on our faculty teach someone who will change the world in a positive way.

I earn a decent living, which is enough to feed my family and to pay for not only the necessities of life, but also many of the little luxuries, like being able to shop at Central Market instead of Albertson’s, and Eddie Bauer instead of Wal-Mart. I know that there are a lot of people in the world who don’t have that option, and I’m truly grateful that I’m in a position to enjoy the life that I have.

I don’t live to work, I work to live.

I may not ever be a “Captain of Industry,” but honestly, that’s okay. I don’t know if I want the stress that comes with that.

I’ll probably never be “rich” in the financial sense, but I hope that I’ll be “rich” in friendship and community, enjoying the little things that so often get overlooked while chasing fame and fortune.

I truly wish and hope that I can enjoy every day that I’m fortunate enough to experience, and that I can be an example to my friends who are struggling with their own place in life. I know that the path I’m choosing isn’t right for everyone, but I hope that I can at least live the example that if one chooses not to run the “rat race,” that life can still be a beautiful and fulfilling experience.

You might have heard me say that I abhor “green” as a descriptive word. Unless it’s describing the color of something. Let’s talk about another word… Sustainable. The dictionary built into my trusty Power Mac provides the following definition of sustainable: “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.”

What does that mean when someone uses it in reference to a lifestyle, building, city, etc.? Fortunately it means exactly what it sounds like. To live sustainably means to conduct your life in a way that makes you able to maintain your lifestyle at a certain rate or level. To build sustainably means that you use only what you need and that the built environment respects the balances necessary in nature both for sourcing materials and for heating/cooling and landscaping maintenance.

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