No, don't start humming the Christmas song with a title similar to today's blog heading. Since Halloween is gone, we'll all soon be bombarded with holiday tunes as it is.
Saturday mornings, especially in the fall, are just grand. I'm always the first one up in the Geohouse. Cool temps, hot coffee, overall quiet. Plus Friday night-Saturday morning sleep is some of the most restful I get all week.
The above tend to congeal into a mental condition that in turn causes me to think reflectively at the very start of the weekend. Today's thoughts? Meaning. Drive. Happiness. All of these were subjects of my musing during the past week.
What drives me? I wonder. I am not a Type A person. (Sometimes I believe I'm Type B minus.) Achievement has its place, but it is not my ultimate goal. I'm more oriented to my interests and hobbies than my livelihood. And I don't think that's wrong. Please do not misunderstand me, I work hard at my profession. I am constantly reading and attending workshops in order to learn new and different ways in which to ply my trade. I do network. And I am enjoying some of the freedoms that come with being self-employed, even if I am engaging in a little moonlighting for the time being. The outside work is OK and I am always reminding myself that doing the extra work is not a long-term plan.
Happiness? I know enough to know it doesn't come from money. Money can certainly buy fun, for the short-term, but it cannot buy sustained, chronic joy. Vacations and journeys have their place but often I am OK just tending to my own home. My favorite sports teams? Politics? Entertainment? Nope, goose egg on all three. Happiness does not come from outside circumstances. (OK, not my idea. Stephen Covey communicates this in "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," and Rick Warren relates this concept from a Christian perspective in "The Purpose Driven Life," both good reads.) I think my father had it correct when, in a recent phone conversation, he reminded me to take time and do some outdoor grilling and take my truck out to explore Arizona. (This, in a response to how stressed I felt at that time.)
So this morning I am feeling upbeat, optimistic. Now, can I take this attitude and sustain it throughout the weekend, perhaps even (yikes!) the week to come?
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Now, moving away from the reflection, here's a short Geofamily reference to a current event. The photo today (from 2005) shows Geoana at the Anchorage zoo, in the background is (or was) their resident elephant. Who was moved to warmer climes this week.
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