A serious admonition, and a challenging aspiration. Also guiding principles in life, by your humble scribe, Steve Manning.

     You can perish in the flames generated by the heat of your own passions.

And, yet …

     A Life Without Passion Is Not A Life Worth Living.

Now, to the perennial New Year’s dumb-as-owl-poop resolutions.

This upcoming calendar-page-flip, for very few of you paper rather than digital, will bring about certain, darned-near-cast-in-stone beginnings of so many life-altering changes! To a certainty, with intended—loudly professed—absolute resolve and unfailing commitment! Commencing that Saturday morning, so many of us WILL become healthier, wealthier, happier, more righteous! So much better denizens of the social tsunami we are living in. Awesomely better children and parents and friends and colleagues. Fellow-humans. Hell, even more socially conscious consumers of, well, everything. Including my limited words of wisdom, I can hope and pray.

Some of us will feel certitude that we can even be, no, we will be thinner and better looking! And even taller! Next year, for sure…

From the wisdom of one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Yogi Berra: “It’s like déjà vu all over again,” to the pseudo-wisdom of your, again, humble scribe, Steve.

New Year or not, perhaps you [and me] will reflect on a few, some, many, most of the “concepts to live by and with”, enumerated in the title of this post. Hmm. Pondering on my perceived super—importance—to characterize those as “concepts”. At least for me, too-many of those are beyond just cool words, apropos character-traits and characterizations of people, things, events. Too many of those, both as “concepts” and as “precepts” of life, can and have kept me awake too-many nights.

Alas, or not, truly yours is in fact reflecting on all of that with the new year upon us. Not like from midnight Friday to seconds past, then Saturday, I can resolve – and have the ability to be so much more, better, different. Starting on Saturday. Cannot help any of that with the good wishes from family and the people I care to really hear from. Not acknowledging the “good” part of those, well, it is as close to heresy—without religion—I get.

I wish my readers a new year filled with wonders. All around us AND what we can individually envision, and realize for those in our lives. And, finally, for ourselves. Good health, happiness, prosperity and tranquility. And accomplishment.

On my imaginary teleprompter, always, and guiding lights if I were to be pondering New Year’s resolutions. Which I am not…

         A life without passion is not a life worth living.

         Life is not a dress rehearsal.  

        You’re betraying your whole life if you don’t say what you think—and you don’t say it honestly and bluntly. *

         In the paradigm of life, you have three options: Lead, follow, or get out! 

Get out? It is mindless to concede defeat. It is incomparably easier to fail than to succeed. What is the point?

Follow? Just be in the flow of life? Not even the occasional bubble in boiling pea-soup? Is there a point to being ordinary? Yes, if one prefers to lapse into certain obscurity.

Lead? Now: there is the most elegant of options, the option that should make getting up in the morning really compelling.

Finally, in this Wuhan era, I cannot resist but to extend this wish and tiny piece of goodwill to you: May you NOT live in interesting times [age]. Rather than the near-universally accepted and misunderstood “good” wish. “May you live in interesting times [age]” it is actually a traditional Chinese curse, wishing one troubles rather than peace and tranquility. The ever-present Chinese long-game, in so many forms.

Rather the opposite. Seek wisdom wherever, from whoever you can, including two other great philosophers of our times, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. For me, substituting a couple secular words for those in the lyrics, in Let It Be (herein-below)…** But, you got this.

I, for one, resolve to keep on keeping on. More of: read and study and write and cultivate relationships with people, exceptional and entirely not, strive to be a more productive and, intelligent and astute observer of people and life.

All of those intentions possible, assuming I just get smarter, more discerning, and find a way to extend the 24 hour day.

*Charles Krauthammer

** Let It Be

Lyrics

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be, be

And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me
Shinin’ until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Let It Be. Lyrics and music by Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

©2021. Steven J. Manning. All rights reserved worldwide. Any reproduction, in part or whole, in any medium whatsoever, are expressly prohibited.