Andre's Corner: The Year in Review

Another year is almost over. The years seem to pass by faster and faster these days. I don't know what they're in a hurry for.

I've learned new lessons this year. We can get by on a lot less money than we think is possible; and be just as happy! Some of the happiest moments in our lives, I came to find out, don't cost a penny. Those moments are quite unexpected. Think of a perfectly blue sky in the serenity of the woods on a camping trip amid an orchestra of singing birds. While you're still relishing on the symphony of the day, you get rewarded with a beautiful full moon and you hear three different owls. How about a flock of Wood Storks performing a ballet dance in the sky for you, or a Mississippi Kite hovering around your house. In many regards, this year has been one of the happiest, reconnecting with nature again, living day by day, visiting with family, and family visiting with you. Of course, I wish I had more money this year, but again I don't want to trade my situation with anyone else's problem. I'll deal with mine with a thankful and contented heart for what I do have, not dwelling on what I can't have.

The importance of keeping a journal hit home this past week end. I've been keeping a journal of our birdwatching activities and transferred everything in an Excell format I've created. Boy, was I surprised! I've gone birdwatching every single week of the year. Sometimes, I'll leave the house very early, and do some birding before going to the office. Usually, Debbie and I will do some birdwatching on the week end. Since we couldn't take any "exotic" vacations this year, we went on a few camping trips (like last year!) and saw many new birds every time. If someone were to ask me how many different birds we've seen this year I would respond guessing "oh, maybe 50 or so". That's before I went through my journal. In reality, I've seen over 120 different species of birds this year. Some of them are quite beautiful. And some of them sung beautiful songs for me. I'm already getting excited about next year. Once you get a good pair of binoculars, birding doesn't cost a thing except for a few Dollars in gas. And it's fun. I went through a lot of very good birding books that I just checked out at the library.

More on the subject of happiness. Sure, you have the obvious ones: be at peace with everyone, love with all your heart, have passion for life, and live in harmony with yourself. That is to nurture your spirit and mental daily, and respect your body i.e. drink wine in moderation and keep practicing martial arts or whatever you do to exercise. I'm not preaching to you, I'm only sharing my experience of this year. When you do the above, life will throw some bonuses your way. In my case, my daughter Leah is getting all As in 12th grade and doing great on her stepping team. They even won some competitions. Kelly is very happy with her 2nd year in college and doing great too. When your daughter is in 2nd year of college, you no longer ask to see her grades but I know she is doing quite well or she wouldn't be so happy. Or, maybe she's a naturally happy person. I can relate to that.