Revolutions for a New Year

I use the word Revolutions advisedly. Resolutions require change of old habits, setting new directions and firm resolve, otherwise known as effort. Sometimes resolutions are not enough; they're too easily forgotten, diminished in importance and, like water, we flow down the easiest path.

Revolutions, on the other hand, are more alarming, require spontaneous combustion, strong determination and sacrifice, breaking out of old molds. All things we may resist. But to make the changes that will enable us to realize our potential, to reach beyond what we have achieved to this point, requires some serious awakening. Einstein defined insanity as, "Doing the same things over and over, and expecting different results." Thats generally human nature, to keep doing what we have been doing, to stay in our comfort zone and not break any eggs.

I am getting up in years. My ruts are pretty comfortable most days. But my life isn't over. I don't want to do the same thing today I did yesterday. I still want to try new things, see new places, make new friends, and have new experiences. During a 2001 summer mood of introspection, I wondered if I wanted to keep doing what I was doing for the rest of my life. I had a real estate company with associates I enjoyed, a nice home and wonderful family and friends. I told my wife, let's sell everything we have, buy a sailboat and sail from San Diego along the coast of Baja California, into the Sea of Cortez, down past Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco and then through the Panama Canal into the Carribean. We could cross the north coast of Venezuela, to the southern tip of the islands at Tobago and then north along the island chain to Miami, Florida, then sell the boat and write a book. A wild hair. I read books about others who had done similar trips, talked with sailors and planned it all out.

That year my oldest daughter was in a plane crash. She and her husband were badly burned. We did sell everything, but it was to relocate to the Phoenix area where she and her husband would need treatment and physical therapy for years to come. Grandchildren needed to be cared for and we were the most able to be there. Family comes first. Our daughter and son-in-law survived, but the trip preparations were put on hold.

God has looked out for me all my life. I am still blessed every day and grateful for every sunrise. Every new day is an adventure, a series of joys of home, family, breathing fresh air, enjoying vision of blue skies, clouds, trees, green grass and, yes, working. I later learned about the potential folly of such a trip, especially for a novice. Sailing all night dodging freighters in shipping lanes, real pirates, diving with your spouse and coming up to find your boat is gone, scrubbing off barnacles, polishing metal fittings to prevent destruction by salt water and electrolysis, with little time to sunbath and read all the books you packed. A great dream, maybe done better in the mind than in reality.

So look at your life, make the most of every day, enjoy your family and associations, your work and look at it all from an eternal perspective. "Am I being all I can be as a child of God and what more can I do to use what I have been given?" Have a great New Year, serve your fellow man and go plan a dive.