Note: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it Every year around this time, I see a handful of friends sharing it again, so this year聽I鈥檓 republishing it, changing nothing but the number 2012聽to 2021聽and the name of one musical artist聽(to keep it more current). I hope you like it, whether you鈥檙e reading it for the first time this year聽or the tenth.
One Saturday morning last October, my friend Greg and I were running down the in the Grand Canyon, close to halfway through 26 miles of trail. We had run four聽miles and would run about four聽more to Phantom Ranch, where we could double-fist coffee and Lemmy lemonade at the cantina before climbing 4,400 vertical feet back up the South Rim to finish a hike/run rim-to-rim.
I turned around midstride and said, 鈥淗ey, Greg!鈥
鈥淵eah,鈥 he said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e running in the Grand Canyon!鈥
Sometimes I get to do awesome things, and I kind of forget how awesome they are. Do you? I get stressed, caught up in other stuff, and I forget how fortunate I am, how incredible life has turned out to be most days, and some of the special places I鈥檝e gotten to see. Most of the time, though, I try to keep a pretty good handle on it鈥攖ry to remember to turn around and yell to my friend that聽yes, we are running across the most famous hole on earth, and that鈥檚 pretty special. Or, you know, even reminding someone a few months later about something special:
Kurt Vonnegut, in a at the University of Wisconsin, said, 鈥淚 urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 鈥業f this isn鈥檛 nice, I don鈥檛 know what is.鈥欌
In 2021, I urge you to notice when something is awesome, as it often is, and exclaim or murmur or just make a mental note of it. Isn鈥檛 it just goddamn fantastic that you have your health, for example? Or running water, or electricity? Or that you have enough money to actually pay someone else to make you a cup of coffee? Or if you want ice cream, you are at any time in America probably only five聽or ten minutes away from a place that sells some form of it? (Trust me on that one.)
Your life, even the bad parts, is fucking amazing. And most of the small things that make up your life are amazing, too鈥攎ountain-bike rides, rock climbs, ski runs, sunsets, stars, friends, people, girlfriends and boyfriends, dogs, songs, movies, jokes, smiles … hell, even that burrito you ate for lunch today was pretty phenomenal, wasn鈥檛 it?
What was your enthusiasm for these things last year? I recommend you step it up in 2021.
People can disagree with things like quality, maybe your taste in food, or whether or not a movie is good. But no one can argue with enthusiasm, especially when it is over the top.
Do you think that climb you just did is the greatest climb ever? Great! If someone tries to tell you it isn鈥檛, who cares? 鈥淕reatest Rock Climb Ever鈥 is not an objective title. Thusly, when you are excited about a climb (or a trail run or a summit view or a bike ride or a sunrise), don鈥檛 let anyone bring you down.
A conversation where someone puts down your favorite ski area/mountain/rock climb/trail/burrito is not a conversation about ski areas/mountains/rock climbs/trails/burritos. It is a conversation about that person being a pompous asshole. Go forth and be positive in 2021.
Enthusiasm doesn鈥檛 have to stand up to criticism. It doesn鈥檛 even have to really make sense. If you finish a ski run, mountain-bike聽trail, or sport-climbing route聽and you聽love it, I encourage you to try out new superlatives when describing it to someone else. This goes for everything you鈥檙e excited about. Examples:
- 鈥淚鈥檓 just going to tell you now that Outer Space is the most incredible rock climb you will ever do. You cannot not smile while climbing it. It鈥檚 like the Beatles. Even if you, for some ridiculous reason, don鈥檛 enjoy it, you can鈥檛 deny its inherent goodness.鈥
- 鈥淗ave you heard the new Brockbeats album? It will knock you on your ass!鈥
- 鈥淭he eggplant-Parmesan sub at Pasquini鈥檚 is probably my favorite sandwich in the entire city of Denver, if not the state of Colorado. In fact, now that I鈥檝e said that, I think we should go to Pasquini鈥檚 immediately.鈥
Maybe some of the stuff you love, that you鈥檙e passionate about, isn鈥檛 cool. Hey, this is 2021. Everything is cool. Irony is either everything聽or dead. Be honest: When you see someone wearing a聽M枚tley Cr眉e聽T-shirt, you don鈥檛 know if they鈥檙e serious聽or wearing it to be ironic, do you? Do you like M枚tley Cr眉e? Then rock that shit. And spread happiness.
Remember it is not illegal to high-five anyone. Do you use exclamation points in the salutations of your email? Well, why not?
Do you like to laugh? Most people do, don鈥檛 they? Including baristas, waitstaff, and retail personnel. Perhaps you have at some point had a real conversation with one of these people. This can sometimes begin by sincerely asking those people how they are, instead of treating them like a machine that makes you coffee or orders your salad. This opens the door to making them laugh. If you play your cards right, you may be able to high-five them at the end of a conversation.
Remember yesterday, when you saw that one thing that reminded you of that one friend of yours, and you thought about how, if you sent that friend a photo of the thing that reminded you of them, they would smile? But then you didn鈥檛 send your friend that photo, and it wasn鈥檛 awesome. Don鈥檛 do that again. Here鈥檚 what you do:
- Take the photo.
- Send it to your friend.
- Your friend smiles. The world is a better place. Thanks.
You may have already made some New Year鈥檚 resolutions, to lose weight, to eat better, to read two books every month, whatever. How about making one more, to be just a little more awesome?
Note: The shirt in the drawing is now that you can buy and wear if you wish.