Lesson Number 1 in 2009

My only resolution this year is to learn to listen...to myself mostly...to trust my intuition, to speak and act according to what feels true for me in each moment and to not compromise what my spirit says is right for me, regardless of any other influences.

I had just come up with this resolution as I was lying in my bed staring at the stars at 10:30 pm on New Year's Eve. All of my friends were out at the Buddha Bar preparing to dance the night away in a tiny Costa Rican village and to bring in the new year with fireworks and loud music. At the last moment I had decided not to go with them. I didn't really want to...I just don't care so much about staying out late and dancing anymore. I did a lot of that in my 20's, but now, I just want to snuggle up with my dog and go to bed early....which is why I chose not to go. I hadn't seen D'Ogee for a while and I always get a little worried about him wandering around in the jungle by himself. He could get eaten by anything. He's so small. My friends were in a hurry to leave, so I said I'd go find him and catch up with them later. He was hiding under my bed, as usual, but by the time I had gotten to my house, I decided I was glad I didn't go. I knew inside that I would much rather be in bed, and so I was inspired to create my resolution.

Isn't it interesting how the universe tests us sometimes? I had no sooner felt completely at ease with my resolution and was beginning to drift off into the last blissful sleeping moments of 2008, when I heard the 4-wheeler drive up and one friend's voice boomed through my house. He had come back to get me. It was a very kind gesture which I appreciated, but I hesitated, searching for a reason not to go. My mind quickly found something...my dog. I couldn't leave him there by himself. If I left him locked in a room, he would start barking and keep everyone else awake. My friend was insistant that I go anyway...to the point of pulling me out the door and using the old guilt technique...'I came all this way back to get you, so you gotta come'. Grrr.... although D'Ogee did start barking, my friend was not about to give in. He made me wait for a few minutes until he stopped barking, and then before I knew it, I was riding on the back of the quad heading to the bar for New Years.

Intuition is always right. It was not the place for me to be at that time. The music was obnoxious...not at all what I like to dance to. The crowd was not my style either, and by the time my friend had a few drinks, he was getting loud and annoying and I wanted to leave. When I finally got home, I smelled like smoke, so I went to take a shower, and now I am sitting here waiting for my hair to dry before going to bed, and soaking in the lessons I've already learned in the first few hours of 2009.

Basically, I'm a sucker and drunk people annoy me. Lesson number one in 2009...get a backbone.

Oh, there was one really cool thing about tonight. As we were driving on the quad, we saw a little baby skunk in the middle of the road. It was so small...about the size of a baby duck, and it was just sitting there licking its little paws just like my dog does. My friend said the skunks here stay really small and they don't spray. That was all the assurance I needed...I jumped off the quad and picked the little guy up, cupping him in my hands like a baby bird. He made a few squeaky noises to let me know he didn't like that so much, but I couldn't resist his adorableness. I wanted to keep him, but I set him down off to the side of the road where he wandered off into the trees. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. If I come across another one of those, I'm going to make it my pet. Hopefully, D'Ogee doesn't think its a squeaky toy and mall it to death. It could easily be tied to the end of a string and be a cat toy. Oh, thank you, God, for making such sweetness in the world! It was almost worth being drug out of bed. :)