A Bird's Eye View

Today was a great day due to a small thing.  As in...literally a small object.  But before I can talk about this small object, I need to provide some background information.

Our office building is luxurious in that everyone has his or her own office.  I am lucky enough to have a window office that looks out over a large field that may or may not be a swamp.  If it is a swamp, it's been enormously beneficial in allowing various animals to inhabit the area surrounding the office building.  My friend Maria and I have often spent a few moments of our otherwise busy time gazing out the window upon the likes of groundhogs, cardinals, Canadian geese (curse the geese...I'll never escape them!), and even a huge red tailed hawk.

(via)

That was a glorious day.  It sat in the tree next to my window for a full 15 minutes!

Enough background.

Maria walked into my office today with a Christmas gift.  Inside said Christmas gift was a bird watching guidebook and a pair of binoculars.

New.  Favorite.  Object.

I've never been a bird watcher, but all of a sudden I felt like I understood the heart of hearts of all bird fanatics out there.  I have a full book of 121 birds to search for and check off the list!  I have 121 glossy pictures to marvel at!  I have binoculars with which to peer into the sky and watch the 121 birds speed across the horizon!  HOW COULD ANYONE DO ANY WORK WITH BIRDS IN THE SKY??

So if you walk past my office for the next, oh, I don't know...year...expect to see me with the binoculars glued to my face.  I will put a check mark next to every single bird in that book if it's the last thing I do.

All else is for the birds.

Starting Over

Well, 2012 is over and we all lived to tell the tale.  So much for the world ending, Mayans!  I, for one, am glad to have a brand new year to look forward to.

I've been reflecting a lot lately.  2012 was a wonderful, full year, but it was one marked with a strange sort of internal struggle for me.  2013 is a fresh start - the opportunity for renewed perspectives and rejuvenation.  I've let many of my convictions and passions take a back seat, and it's time to bring them to the foreground again:

Music

I no longer have any excuse to not practice.  Someone asked me for lessons, and in order to teach well I need to be able to play well.

Blogging

I used not having internet in my apartment as the reason to assuage my guilt over being too lazy to blog.  I love the idea of having a place to record thoughts, and as I've never been much of a journal-keeper, blogging solved that problem.  I'm not going to let another year go by un-blogged simply because I read so many others that I think are more well-written than mine.  The point of a blog is not to become rich and famous.  The point of a blog (or at least mine) is to have an outlet for thoughts and a record of events.  Therefore...the blog is coming back to life!

Faith

All throughout college, I had this image of myself juggling various items - faith, academics, music, friends.  At various times, I struggled to maintain all of them at the same time, but faith was the one that never wavered, but instead held all the others in balance.  Post college, apathy has gotten in my way, and my relationship with God was the one that took a hit.  I can't let that continue.  I'm going to read through the Bible again this year, and do my utmost to "act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with [my] God."

Friends

I have been so incredibly blessed to have the most amazing friends anyone could ever ask for, and I think it's too easy to take that for granted.  My two closest friends are both getting married this year, and I absolutely cannot wait to celebrate with them!  Those weddings will be such joyous occasions, and it will be a privilege to take part in them.

Organization

If I'm going to juggle well this year, I need to reevaluate how I spend my time off.  I'm completely capable of using time wisely, and yet I've found myself wasting time on the computer, sitting around doing almost nothing, or generally not using free time to its full potential.

So my resolutions this year can be boiled down to just one thing: I need to appreciate the many blessings God has entrusted to me so that I can use them, whether practicing, investing in friendships, church, free time, work, or anything else, to the best of my ability and for his glory.  Here's to a new year ahead!