So I haven't blogged in about a month, but didn't want to let December, and 2017 come to close without one more. Today what's on my mind is well... everything.
The ouroborus symbol shows up in a lot of mythologies, and means a number of different things including, "the infinite cycle of nature's endless creation and destruction, life and death." (Thanks, Wikipedia.)
I have a funny relationship with that idea. As I've mentioned lots and lots of times on this blog, every single day of my life I wake up and think "oh good, another one." I'm firmly of the belief that this moment, is the only moment, that we live in the eternal now. Think of a desert highway stretching out to infinity, or an endless wake left behind a boat that's always on the move, and those ideas come close.
That doesn't mean everything stands still. Far from it. This has been a tumultuous year for me, personally.
I've weathered some misfortunes, including my wife Missy having a health crisis (that she seems to thankfully be out the other side of), having a very long relationship end (gracefully), supporting family members through some trauma of their own.
I've also had some great things going on. My relationship with my girlfriend Alissa is stronger than ever. I started a business that's still in its infancy (shush you), embarked on a new way of writing and getting it out there that is looking very promising.
Last night, Missy, Rachel, and I went to a birthday party for an old Camp Crucible friend of mine, Pete, down at The Crucible. I saw lots and lots of folks I haven't seen in ages, because I have been sort of isolating myself. It was kind of magical how evergreen many of those friendships have proven themselves to be. People greeted me warmly, and were genuinely thrilled to see me, as I was to see them.
Which is not to say "same as it ever was." Because that's not how it works. I can see differences in myself, and even people I've known over a decade, see our growth in different directions.
Things are always on the move, people are always changing. Things end, start, morph, grow, die. It's this endless dance, that I don't get to sit out of, even when I sometimes have wanted to.
But today, as I consider the year coming to a close, I feel really good about this serpent eating its own tail. The year's coming to an end, and to a beginning, too. Just like me, just like you, just like everything.
I'm grateful for that.