Life and how to live it

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

It’s actually kind of funny how the end of the year forces me—and you, I presume—to look back on last year and strategize for next. It’s also kind of funny how the world, time and future-time all tend to intersect around these moments of intense retro-, intro- and futurospection.

I was told by three sources in four days that I’ve got to start living in the moment. I don’t even know what that means. It’s easiest to understand when it comes from my yoga instructor (Denise at Yoga Loka). About half of what we do in her class—which I recommend for beginners like myself, by the way—is try to shut down our thinking minds so we can listen better to what our bodies are telling us.

I got the same advice from an Enneagram site. I guess I’m one of the few people on the planet who thought Enneagrams were an illegitimate form of personality description—don’t get mad at me, but kind of like astrology. Have you heard of this thing? According to an online dictionary, the Enneagram is “a system of spiritual psychology based on an ancient Sufi typology of nine personality types or primary roles with the recognition of one’s type tantamount to a spiritual awakening.” C’mon, I’m an 8; do you think I really believe this bullshit?

This other guy, though—he’s kind of a friend, kind of a professional—also says I’ve got to live in the moment. He says I should stop imagining that my desire—to see things from many angles, to anticipate obstacles, to take pleasure when a plan comes together—can actually influence the outcomes of things.

I don’t know if I can do it.

For example, at this precise moment, I’m about to change the radio station because the one I usually listen to is hawking giving puppies to people for Christmas. It’s the one sure way to guarantee a nice healthy stock of animals for the gas chamber down at Washoe County Animal Control.