Thoughts on clear focus, strong presence

In the final days of December we can’t help but review – even briefly – the way we spent the year that’s soon to end.

And as we do, one thing we may notice is the degree to which we were committed to the ways we spent our moments, our days, our lives in the 12 months that have just flown by.

What would you like to have stay the same in 2010 as it was in 2009?

How do you want things to be different in your life in the year just ahead?

Here are thoughts from others about presence, commitment and purpose:

Presence is more than just being there.
Malcolm S. Forbes

Some people think they are concentrating when they’re merely worrying.
Bobby Jones

Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes.
Kenneth Hildebrand

The first rule of focus is this, “Wherever you are, be there.”
Unknown

Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all management of human affairs.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thoughts about ringing in the new year

End the old year well.

Get the next year off to a great start.

Here’s the advice a few others have about that process:

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.
Bill Vaughn

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
Edith Lovejoy Pierce

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.
T. S. Eliot

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits.
Unknown

Festive Christmas flamingo


Christmas flamingo, originally uploaded by jcgr.

As an alternative to the traditional bear or reindeer for Christmas lawn decorations, there's always the Christmas flamingo.

It's even more festive at night, dressed in full seasonal light.

Reviewing the year? A few things to consider

You may be like many people at this time of year, reviewing how you did in 2009, and planning for 2010.

Consider these thoughts as you look back, and then look forward again:

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
Thomas Edison

Nothing at all will be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
Samuel Johnson

We will either find a way, or make one.
Hannibal

The fear is not that we set our goals too high and we do not reach them, but that we set them too low and we do.
Michelangelo

If we all did the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.
Thomas Edison

In the holiday spirit, the gift of free parking


Free parking for Christmas, originally uploaded by jcgr.

Free parking for the holidays!

It's a BIG present in some cities (can you imagine the gift of free parking in San Francisco? New York?). And it's a nice treat, in any case.

Here, a parking meter cover greets visitors on a rainy day in Capitola, CA.

Remarkability is within your grasp

We live in a world of great opportunity as well as constant change and challenge.

And within each of us is the possibility of being remarkable in one or more ways. Here's what others have to say about "remarkability":

The reason so many people never get anywhere in life is because when opportunity knocks, they are out in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers.
Walter Percy Chrysler

People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.
Norman Vincent Peale

Be so remarkable they can't ignore you.
Steve Martin

There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
Johann Sebastian Bach

The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man nothing else that he builds ever lasts monuments fall; nations perish; civilization grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts, of the hearts of men centuries dead.
Clarence Day

And then there's the challenge of living in a world of low expectations, and not letting that hold you back from discovering and expressing the "remarkable" you possess, and can express, if you find the right way, the right venue for it. Here's how one playwright expressed that challenge:

Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.
Wendy Wasserstein

Are you sure about this guy?


Are you sure about this guy?, originally uploaded by jcgr.

We forget sometimes that we were once afraid of things we soon came to know, and expect.

Here our son, then almost 2 (now almost 18), sizes up the experience of the boy ahead of him in line to visit Santa.

Matt was unsure of what he thought, and never did really warm up to Santa, ever.

Our daughter woke late Christmas Eve when she was 2-1/2, frightened that this strange man was going to (as she saw it) break into our house in the middle of the night – even if it was to leave presents behind.

She didn't like the breaking and entering part of the Santa concept.

Until I saw the experience through our children's eyes, I didn't really think about how intimidating Santa can seem.

And then, there's the point when kids – or some of them – may keep parents believing that they still believe…believing, themselves, that for one last year, it may result in a bigger present yield…

So, how are things?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself every now and then:

1. What are you building or creating?

2. What are you improving, simplifying or streamlining?

3. Is there something that you're trying to make stay the same, or "go back the way it was" at some time in the past? Perhaps that's possible, perhaps it's not.

See what ideas your answers bring as you get ready for 2010. And…if can you believe it…we're starting the decade that will end right before 2020 (which will be here sooner than we expect).

Be open to what you find so that you're ready, as need be, to adapt.

The future is just around the corner…and even closer than that.

In fact, it starts with your very next step.

Day’s end – and decade’s end – just around the bend

It's nearly another year's end. It's almost the end of this century's first decade, as well.

Consider the highlights for you:

- What's your favorite memory from the past year?

- What's your favorite thing about the decade that will soon be over?

- What's the one change you would like to make in the year ahead?

- How do you hope your life is different when the next decade ends?

How to give a gift that the giftee loves

Searching for just the right gift for someone?

Here's a bit of advice from one of my best friends: "The best gifts are treasures and experiences," she says.

I like that gift-giving plan.

I've received gifts that hit the mark more than the giver ever guessed they might. The signs of a gift that is adored?

Laughter, hugs, tears in the eyes.

And the best clue for the other kind?

The very slowly unfolding laugh trying to mask the thought, "Hmmm…what can I say? Is there any way I'll use this???"

The rule in our family is that if the giftee really won't use the gift, they can – without hard feelings – return it. We hope not to need to use the rule, but on occasion, it comes into play.

And kids, if you want to know the gift that will warm your parents' heart more than you might ever guess, it's still the one…no matter what age you are…that you made yourself.

Perhaps, as parents, we should remember that advice, as well.

Finally, there's the gift of shared, attentive time (which means, of course, time that's Blackberry, phone and Twitter-free).

It's always a wonderful gift.