It's that time again to make some New Years resolutions. Actually, I stopped making New Years resolutions years ago because I generally either lost the motivation after a couple of weeks or I most often made resolutions that I realistically couldn't keep. Either way, it was an exercise of futility. Although I don't do New Years resolutions here is my list of things I would like to see happen in the weeks and months to come.

1. Take more intiative to develop new friendships. I have a number of great friends in my neck of the woods but most of my friends I have known for ten years or longer and I haven't really made any new friends for years. It's great to have loyal friends who you have known for years but I think it is time to go out on a limb and make an attempt to make some new connections...Making new friends at my age and stage of life will be challenging because most folks are married and have extensive family related responsibilities but I do need to take more of an initiative to develop friendships with others.

2. Explore and expand my social network. I've been in a rut for some time now regarding my involvement or rather lack of involvement in some kind of social network. For years my social network was the local church but since my self imposed exile a couple of years ago I have yet to fill the vacuum created by my departure. I do intend to continue visiting a couple of local churches in the weeks and months to come but I also want to expand my search beyond religious institutions. I intend to attend some meditation workshops in the near future and tomorrow night I am hoping to attend some kind of "therapeutic/meditative" drum session at the local Metropolitan Community Church. I feel kind of awkward trying new things but I do feel I need to make the effort.

3. Get involved in some kind of local community service project. Right now I am looking at some local environmental related activities of peace projects. Bakersfield is an ultra conservative city but there are some small enclaves of folks who also care about the environment and are concerned about our foreign policy. It may take some effort to find these folks but I do hope to get involved in something this year.

4. Take advantage of my current situation. I am in a unique situation in my life right now...being single...with lots of time on my hands and I hope to not waste this opportunity by wasting my time on meaningless activities. I am not exactly sure what this all means, at this time in my life, but I see this as a year to take more risks and explore the numerous possibilities before me.

5. Explore past relationships...Although I am currently single I would like to be in a "meaningful/healthy" relationship again, some day...but...first I think I need to explore my past because my past relationships have been rather dysfunctional. I don't intend to beat myself up over my past but I think it would be helpful to explore and give some thoughtful consideration to why my marriage and other recent relationships came to an end.

6. And finally, I want to travel to some "new" places this upcoming year. I have gotten into a rut regarding where I spend my vacation time over the past six or seven years and this summer I hope to travel to some places I have yet to visit...like...Sante Fe, New Mexico...Colorado...and maybe go back to Sedona Arizona....