Well… 2022 has officially come to a close… what a life changing year (can you say understatement…) but I have learned so many life lessons that I will take with me… I figured it was only fitting to share some of them with you guys…
I have learned…
To never (EVER) take the small pleasures of life for granted…
To cherish the true relationships in your life and let go of the fleeting ones…
To say what you mean and mean what you say…
To tell the people that you love… you love them… often…
To put respect on your word. At the end of the day… it is more valuable than anything else you could possess…
To try not to react emotionally… no matter how hard it is to bite your tongue at times… breathe and react…
To acknowledge that we are just a small piece of an extremely large and intricate puzzle. An important piece but one of many…
To own our past and learn from it…
How incredibly rewarding it is to connect in a genuine way…
How much joy I get from receiving actual letters in the mail…
How enjoyable it is to read a good book…
That you can make some legit cheesecake with coffee creamer, lemon juice and a little ice cream… Cookie of choice for the crust…
That embracing the community around you is a gift that shouldn’t be overlooked…
That the mind is extremely powerful… use it wisely…
That embracing your vulnerability is a super power…
That we must own our mistakes and work through our pain in order to move forward. Avoidance gets us nowhere…
To live in the “now”. It is truly all we have and if we can genuinely live in the moment… we can release our minds of the “could haves” from yesterday and the “hope so’s” of tomorrow… and actually enjoy the gifts of today…
That there is no such thing as perfect. Accepting and inviting the imperfections of life as opposed to attempting to portray a perfect one leads to the fulfillment that we seek…
That I am one ridiculously lucky guy to have the family that I have… I am beyond grateful for every single one of you…
As I was writing this… 2 guys that I hang out with in here came up and asked what I was doing… I told them and asked them if there was anything that they would say they “learned” this year or since they have been incarcerated… their answers…
“To live every moment… for the moment. Take nothing for granted. The smallest stuff…. the smell of your wife’s hair. Don’t take it for granted. Believe in your fellow man. Stick together. Learn to be unified… cherish comradery.”
“That my kids don’t need another friend… they need a Dad.”
Happy New Year to everyone out there.
I wish you all the joy… all the life… all the laughs… all the adventure… all the challenges… all the lessons learned and lessons taught… I wish you an incredible year ahead.
Heres to 2023.
Stay Healthy. Stay Active. Make someone smile.