December 21, 2010: Day 355

With 2010 coming to a close, I've been reflecting on the past year and starting, in a sense, to mourn the upcoming end of my 365 Days of Contentment project. A friend reached out to me this week saying she was having a tough time and was looking for advice on how I kept such a positive attitude and outlook "all the time." Truth be told, just because I have a photo from each day, doesn't mean every day was a "good" one. I reflect and although few and far between, there were certainly days of exhaustion, heart break and loneliness. Or more frequent were days that were routine or unremarkable. But even on the saddest or most mundane of days, there was always a splash of contentment, happiness or hope. There was always something to point my lens and focus on.

Today, for instance was a good day but not necessarily noteworthy. I enjoyed my day off from work with a true "Whit day" including finishing a wonderful book, Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea, in my favorite coffee shop. (No, I'm not a surfer but that's a moot point.) One of the author's metaphors is that like life, the majority of time surfing is spent paddling and not necessarily riding waves. To be happy and really enjoy life, we must savor the paddling just as much as the thrill of riding the wave.

I wish you all peaceful paddling and extraordinary waves that are worth the wait. Happy Winter Solstice.