(Artwork by Dave Coverly)

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t been for a very long time. Nothing like the feeling that you’ve ruined your entire year when it’s less than ten days old because you skipped the gym two days in a row. Best to just do what you can without making a declaration and move on.

These past couple of years have been trying for all of us. Things have not exactly gone the way I’ve wanted since I moved, and it really came down on me last year. I’m feeling a bit better about the world these days. My optimism for the coming year is … guarded at best. But I’m determined to find a way to make 2022 work for me.

To that end, I’ve made a single resolution for the coming year. But it covers pretty much everything I hope to achieve or accomplish. I’m not sure where it came from. But one day, it was just there:

Make EVERYTHING go toward SOMETHING.

It’s pretty simple, really. There are tons of things I hope to do in the future. Making the right choices — productive choices — makes things flow.

Even if it’s something that seems unproductive — like catching a nap or playing a video game — can aid my mental health, which makes me more enthusiastic about my work. Leisure activity can lead toward something.

I suppose this is another way of saying “don’t waste time.” I’m not getting any younger, after all. And I’ve got stuff to do!

I’ve already started. Even my trip to the record store today can be considered productive, since I’ll be reviewing a couple of the records I bought. The rest will go toward a bi-weekly playlist I’ll be doing on Spotify and YouTube. More on that soon.

Make everything count toward something. This can be done. This will be done.

Back to work.

#cirdecsongs

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (cirdecsongs) My book, I Can’t Be the Only One Hearing This: A Lifetime of Music Through Eclectic Ears, is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine book dealers. I’m currently working on my next book, The Wizard of WOO: The Life and Music of Bernie Worrell.

Would you like to have your record reviewed? Contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com