Another year has passed and I’m happy about everything that happened. In the material world, not much has changed in a way that I should document beyond what has been written on this blog. The lack of changes in my job, home and geographical location allowed me a few things that were missing from previous years but the things in my life continued on and remained the same so it’s hard recapping 2011 in the material sense.
As we entered 2011 together, I had a new girlfriend, was celebrating 6 months at my cabin in New Hampshire and half a year at my job. Today, on the final day of 2012, those things are still here and that makes me happy. I don’t know if they’ll be here a year from now and it’s the unknown that makes every day so rich with new experiences and I’m lucky as hell to have access to my senses to taste food, smell incense and see the colors that surround me. I’m lucky and have never lost touch with the feeling of supreme happiness with everything that hits me day to day. The usual things entered my life like a new car, a new computer and a new iPhone but, just like food, these things will leave me once their nourishment has been realized. In ten years, I won’t care what care was in my garage so these sort of things I’m going to skip over on this post.
The silence in my life these days has lead to some very beautiful things. I make more and have less bills. This enabled 2011 to be a year of travel where I was away 4 months of the year in total and visited Asia, the middle-east, Europe and both coasts of America. These destinations opened me up to new ideals and cultures and changed my perception on a lot of things that I was so sure of in the past. These places also awoke lessons taught to me by my parents in the last 2 decades. There were things that suddenly started to make sense and it took a bit of risk to unlock the meanings of these lessons.
The silence in my life also gave me the opportunity to return to areas of my life that were forgotten. In July, and for the last 6 months, I spent a lot of time at the gym and am slowly getting my body back to the form I was in before the move to San Francisco. I get stronger each day and feel great. I completed 5 books this year which is more than I have read in my entire life (outside of school). This is a huge achievement for me. I plan on doubling this goal next year. My culinary skills improved a great deal and I stepped outside of my comfort zone. Since being raised on a diet of just chicken and fish, I never had any experience cooking beef, pork or fancy fresh fish so it was great trying so many new things. Even cooking pasta is something new to me and the cheeses and wine and breads oh boy. I had a wonderful year cooking new things with Elizabeth and going to nice restaurants all over the world. From meats from the farmers’ markets to goat brains in India, my pallet had quite a year and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also had a joy learning more about liquor and beer. My home bar has a full wine and beer cellar and a full bar with 70 types of liquor. I love hosting events and hosted my first dinner party this year quickly graduating to a BBQ for 30 people over July 4th. I can’t begin to count the amount of happy mouths I’ve fed this year from my kitchen and hope the trend continues next year. The silence gave me the chance to raise my own chickens who provided me with eggs every day and clucks in throughout the day while I sat by the river reading. This November, I killed each of them for food and the chickens will nourish me all winter with their meat. The food I planted in my garden was a joy as well. I didn’t do great but I did get a few great crops from the garden and it was a lot of fun.
The silence and the stars have taken me on many adventures. There’s no traffic where I live and no stress and no crime. I don’t wait in lines at stores because there are no stores. I survive up here and live well despite the long winters and lack of services. Many people freak a bit when I mention my living situation but, as we talk, their jealousy boils and they regret their tiny apartment and noisy neighbors. The way I live isn’t better than others’ but it’s one that many people would like to experience but won’t risk the sacrifices they’ll have to make to have it. My cabin has turned into a retreat for friends who fly here from all over the world to stay by the river and enjoy great food. My house is full right now and I have a friend coming for 2 weeks soon who is going through a divorce. “The trees relax me” she says. Using AirBNB, I made $6,500 this year renting out my cabin to people who wanted to pay for the experience of this relaxing atmosphere. That says a lot and I had a great experience with AirBNB and it funded all of my overseas travel.
Despite the non-changes in my life, a lot did change and I leave 2011 behind with even bigger changes happening in 2012. Most won’t happen until the 2nd half of the year but things are happening and that’s very exciting.
Looking forward, I’ll be going to the gym more in 2012, reading more books, planting more crops and buying more chickens. I have ordered a pig for 2012 that we’ll keep in the back yard among the trees. I won’t be adding any more technology or appliances to my life. I have everything I need. My friendships will grow stronger and my mind will become more nimble as I attempt to forget just as much as I learn. My learning about Indian culture and Hindi lifestyles will continue because I find the way of life there so amazing. Hopefully, more people will come to my cabin next year and have a blast. There are a lot of things I’d like to try but we’ll save those for another post.
Tonight, I engaged in my New Years Eve misogi. For years, this was a ceremony I performed with my friends and father so, doing this alone for the past few years is a difficult task but I got through okay. After 30 minutes of pre-ceremony stretching, I spent 15 minutes jumping in and out of my river which is currently half frozen yelling at the top of my lungs and it was wonderful. I know my friends in Florida are doing the same right now. We’re all seeing the same moon tonight. Now, it’s time to pop the bubbly and celebrate a new year!
There are no regrets in 2011. Maybe that will change next year. What I do know is that this year was remarkable and I foresee continued happiness in the next 12 months. I don’t do this often but thank you to everyone who entered into my life this year and those who left it. Every one of you changed me in a big way and I’m in debt to all of you. There are some of you I may never see again but I remember what you did for me and it means the world to me. I know this blog is pretty boring sometimes but there are people out there who read every post and that’s amazing. I hope you’re here next year and never have a fear of reaching out to me. I love meeting people. Blogging is a very lonely hobby but one I’ll do for life.
Namaste.
