Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Road to Hell

I had good intentions of blogging here in the last six months minus one day. I really did. Does it count that I blogged a seven-week trip elsewhere (though truth be told, I still have at least one more post to write)? At least regular blogging was not one of the resolutions I made, unlike at least one earlier year. At the midway point of the year--which also happens to be my birthday--how am I doing on those resolutions for 2012? I made them more general this year, in hopes of being better able to meet them. Let's see if that helped.

In 2012, I shall be healthy. I've done this for the most part, especially since my physical in May. I'm putting much less caffeine in my body on a daily basis, and trying to snack only on fruits and vegetables. Since a friend's summer vacation from teaching started, I've been going to the gym with her in the mornings. This has made it easy to add some weights back into my fitness routine. I'm not doing the Lazyman Triathlon this year. One, having done it twice and one of those being in two weeks rather than a month, I know I can do it. I'd rather not have what I do for exercise limited to the Lazyman's swimming, biking, and running. Be healthy? Check!

In 2012, I shall produce at least one something for which I feel a sense of accomplishment in several areas: writing, photography, fiber art, thinking. If I finish the last post or two on the trip blog, I would consider that an accomplishment. There were posts I could have written but didn't, but they were of a more general nature and would have had fewer photos. Several of the photos in that blog still amaze me, particularly the faces I showed here. Fiber art, I'm still working on, but with six months to go, I'm not too worried. An idea that delights or amazes me? I've actually had a couple that I hope to expand in posts here or elsewhere. Accomplish somethings? Check!

In 2012, I shall make progress in my practice of Myo Sim karate and kendo. I'm doing that, and in the four areas I mentioned even. Thanks to the sons, I've regularly worked on my kendo sparring, and have been told by fellow students that they see the improvement. I feel a bit more confident about my kicking in karate and my diagonal cuts in kendo though much work remains. And that's okay. If it were all that easy, I would have gotten bored with it by now. Myo Sim practice? Check!

It seems I should have been writing very general resolutions all along, since this is by far the best mid-year checkup that I've had. I feel better physically and while there have been some emotional dips in the road this year, feel better psychologically for now, today, anyway. As with the practice of a martial art, if life were all that easy, we might have gotten bored with it. I'd also have two fewer blog posts in a given year. Should I add a new resolution as a postscript, to run with scissors and a sword here more often? We shall see.