Thinking, or trying not to, during the dark months

Ice flowing down the Hudson River past Poughkeepsie, New York

The new year usually makes us compare where we are to where we thought we'd be from a year or decade ago. So, I'm not where I thought I'd be, but in the long run probably much better off.

I guess it's important to have plans and goals and work toward them. I guess it's important to be open to whatever comes and react to everything as a new opportunity.

...Now, how to live both ways at the same time? I think the answer is in that part of our brains where our minds aren't, like in an athlete who fails when he thinks too hard about what he's doing. It's probably as simple as thinking about and working on the future and being content in the present. If one side overwhelms the other, I suppose you're thinking too hard and need to lose your mind a bit.

Too much caution sometimes piles up and throws off that balance. From the wisdom of the Butthole Surfers, "It's better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven't done."