Twenty-Two More

There are twenty-one days left in 2012 and I need twenty-two more bike rides in order to fulfill the streak of pedaling a bicycle every day this year. Can't believe that it's almost over, both the year and the streak.

I must say though that riding every days helps give context to the scope of a calendar year. It's a bit of a beast all told, though at the same time it flies by so quickly. The days just seem to melt together into a wash that encompasses the weeks and then the months as they tick by. You never get them back regardless of how hard you may try to recapture those bits of nostalgia.

I find it particularly evident at this time of year, the holidays. We watch the old holiday specials hoping to recapture the sense of wonder, anticipation and pure joy that we (hopefully) had as children at the holidays. Though we at times may come close it's never really the same. Those times are past and we are on to the present.

Rather than try and live in the past, I try and live for the day, choosing to believe that we are defined less by what we were and more about what are currently. You are only as good as the last thing you did is a notion that haunts me regularly. It helps keep me grounded and motivated to keep reaching, and works for me.

With the end of each year, my goal is to have every single one be the best one ever. The truth is that this is less a cumulative tally of the year and more a declaration of resolve and defiance, that each day, month and year is precious to me and I understand that. Simply told, for each that we see the end of, we should be grateful. Every day we can smile or pedal our bicycles or be with someone that we love is another win in our race against time. Another day where we can exclaim at least to ourselves if not to the world, that this one was the best one ever.