No One Will Remember But Me

Ah, the beginning of a new year. I imagine, just like me, there are people all over the country who are beginning blogs today, convinced they have something witty or fascinating to say that others want to read. Like the old saying goes:

Dance as if nobody’s watching
Love like you’ve never been hurt
Blog as if the world finds you as entertaining as you find yourself…

Or something like that.

So here it is, the start of 2012. I have a blog readership of zero. I imagine by the end of 2012 – if we’re all here despite Mayan Calendar predictions – I may have a readership of two. My mother (obliged to read by giving birth to me nearly four decades ago) and my friend Stephanie (the kindest soul on the face of the planet). Any more than that I’ll just assume people got lost on their way to the blog they were really trying to find.

But here’s my thought for today. A quote from the Rick Springfield (yes, the guy who sang Jesse’s Girl in the 80s):

“I never could settle for where I was –
Too many places I was trying to be.
The times I’ve succeeded and the times I’ve failed
No one will remember but me.”

It’s a line from a great song called World Start Turning. I don’t need to wax poetic about the meaning of the quote – it’s pretty obvious. But it contains a lot of truth for me: this year, I want to be content where I am and be emotionally invested with the people in my real life. And most importantly I want to be willing to let both my successes and my failures slip from my grasp easily in order to keep moving forward, rather than clutching them to me and carrying their weight. Their weight is too heavy and my journey is still too far.

2012. And so it begins...