2022, Day 1

Well, we made it. 
Although we began 2021 with a vaccine and the hope of putting an end to the Covid pandemic, too much politics and anti-science has us beginning 2022 with another upsurge in infections and a still rising death count.
sigh
But we are here in 2022 and the year is before us. 

I have no real goals for the year. I really haven't had annual goals for some time. I am content to live each day as it comes along. Here are a few of my thoughts for '22.

I do expect that '22 will have a little more travel than the previous two years. Although the pandemic continues to rage, we have been vaxxed and are willing to take the necessary precautions to be able to travel and move about a bit more than we have been able to.
We took the pop-up camper out in the late fall of '21 and will likely use it a time or two this spring. We may even try a camping trip with Groucho, the cat. Plus a bike trip to Colorado Springs in the summer or maybe to a friend's cabin on Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada would be something I may be up for.
Chris will be traveling to Nova Scotia in June and I'm certain we will be making another trip to Mexico.

I do have plans to do a little more gardening this year. I'm still not sure what that will look like, but I hope to be eating more of our own produce this year and adorning our home with some freshly cut flowers on a regular basis.

It has been a couple of years since I've done any magic. Although I do not foresee taking it up for the purpose of doing shows again, I may dabble in the art once again--just for the personal pleasure and to share with a few friends from time to time.

And I really do want to learn to speak and understand Spanish at a conversational level.

Although I am in generally good health, I still need to work on the overall body weight and activity level. That's pretty much an ongoing, daily struggle.

For the most part, I am a fairly calm spirit these days. While I may not always be at peace with the world, I am at peace with myself. As much as the physical John contends with the body, the spiritual John contends with the spirit and finding my place in relationship to God, my fellow humans, and the natural world around me. I am finding the spiritual connections to the physical world to be the true key to a peaceful and happy existence.
The Western world has taught us to keep those things separate and it really doesn't work well to bring about total harmony. We strive to succeed in careers and compete with each other for riches and control, but leave our spirits neglected or propped up with false hopes, false beliefs, and tiny gods.
Meditation, prayer, and time spent with God are helping me to connect better to all of life around me, and helping me to re-evaluate the lessons of the past and the motivation behind them. We can learn much from the ancient teachings of our Eastern friends.

I wish you peace and offer a blessing of love for the coming year.
Be well, my friends.
Please feel free to stop by and spend a few moments of your day at Out of My Hat from time to time during the year. Leave a comment or share a thought on what is posted. Maybe a motorcycle trip will find me in your area and we can meet over a beer or cup of coffee.

John