The garden, training, kayaking, and a few trips have displaced blogging for the past few months, but now that the middle of the year has arrived, I'm making myself post an update on this year's goals. Here goes!
Spiritual:
-Reapproaching the Bible: This deserves a post in itself...but basically, I am constantly learning how to reapproach the Bible through Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations emails and podcasts such as The Liturgists and The Bible for Normal People, and am picking Reading the Bible Again for the First Time back up after a several-month hiatus. I feel that my challenge lies now in learning how to communicate gracefully and clearly in a way similar to two of my biggest influences, Richard Rohr and Science Mike.
-Meditation: Aside from a few random meditations over the last few months, I have let this slide... but plan to hop back on this horse ASAP!
-Personal retreats: Though I haven't yet carved out more than half a day here and there, I'm currently scheduling a 1.5 day retreat for the end of July, a 2.5 day retreat for September, and hopefully another shorter one around the end of the year.
-Generosity: Mindy and I have decided to add another child through Compassion International each year, are increasing our charitable giving, and have been officially approved to start fostering children (see below). In addition, I am also assuming the role of volunteer Medical Director of the local free clinic (Community Care Clinic) where I have volunteered for the last two years.
Relational:
-Mindy: Our communication and fondness for each other is continuing to improve, and I'm encouraged at how we have continued to grow closer. We've also had a couple great trips together this year, one to Wilmington and one to Colorado. Our foster care studying has also sparked some great conversations about our family and life goals. We are also working together on the gardens a lot more and a lot better than ever before, which has been both fun and productive.
-Friends / co-dates: We have started a promising friendship with another couple (the Blands), and continue to hang out with our friends the Hogans on a regular basis, in addition to a few other couples we see occasionally. It was also great to see all our residency friends last week in Colorado.
-Book club: My college friends and I just finished our third book of the year, and it's been fun having people to share my thoughts with and hear what they're thinking. So far, we've read The Road to Unfreedom, Flexible Faith, and Your Money or Your Life-- all of which have sparked some great discussions.
Physical:
-Triathlons: I crashed my bike on my first triathlon in April, which in addition to some gnarly wounds was a gut check on my desire to keep doing them. Fortunately, I had Mindy there to remind me that doing challenging things like triathlons was a core part of who I want to be into old age, and that I want to be that 80 year-old dude who is still racing (and crushing it). So after a few weeks of healing, I got back in the saddle, and ended up placing 3rd in my age group in my second triathlon last month (and was only 2 minutes out of first place). I'm currently dealing with a right rotator cuff flare-up, but otherwise training continues as outlined below:
-Gardening: The thankless stage of preharvest weeding is in full swing, which always makes me question why I garden at all. But I have a very healthy crop of collard greens, carrots, lettuce, squash, kale, and cilantro, and lots of other crops like tomatoes, peppers, and okra are starting to take off:
-Kayaking: I am halfway to my goal of six kayaking trips this year, and anticipate getting closer to ten before the year is done. I have made a couple friends who are showing me the ropes, which helps alot. Next step: learning how to roll my kayak upright from upside down.
-Mushrooms: I've started growing oyster mushrooms on coffee grounds in a more climate-controlled manner, and things are looking promising:
-Bongos: I put in a solid 2 months of practice before life got too busy for it. I'll pick it back up this fall.
-Smoking meat: This has literally been on the back burner, but I'm planning a few smokes for the fall.
Vocational:
Leadership project: My group has nearly completed an important project on the comanagement of patients in the hospital, and I've learned a lot in the process. I've also gained some important mental models as a result of the hospital's leadership program, which will be officially concluding in October.
Family Medicine Residency update: I will be representing the new Boone Family Medicine Residency program at a big national conference at the end of July, and am also leading a transition for procedures such as thoracenteses and paracenteses to be performed by hospitalists, which will be very important in training residents starting in 2020.
Political:
Climate change, environmental activism, and political orientation: As a result of my spiritual evolution, continued reading and learning, and my experience with and education on the far-flung effects of climate change, I have come to see political issues in a markedly different way than the libertarian idealism of yesteryear. Though this has been an important part of my past year, it's too big a topic to tackle here!
Spiritual:
-Reapproaching the Bible: This deserves a post in itself...but basically, I am constantly learning how to reapproach the Bible through Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations emails and podcasts such as The Liturgists and The Bible for Normal People, and am picking Reading the Bible Again for the First Time back up after a several-month hiatus. I feel that my challenge lies now in learning how to communicate gracefully and clearly in a way similar to two of my biggest influences, Richard Rohr and Science Mike.
-Meditation: Aside from a few random meditations over the last few months, I have let this slide... but plan to hop back on this horse ASAP!
-Personal retreats: Though I haven't yet carved out more than half a day here and there, I'm currently scheduling a 1.5 day retreat for the end of July, a 2.5 day retreat for September, and hopefully another shorter one around the end of the year.
-Generosity: Mindy and I have decided to add another child through Compassion International each year, are increasing our charitable giving, and have been officially approved to start fostering children (see below). In addition, I am also assuming the role of volunteer Medical Director of the local free clinic (Community Care Clinic) where I have volunteered for the last two years.
Relational:
-Mindy: Our communication and fondness for each other is continuing to improve, and I'm encouraged at how we have continued to grow closer. We've also had a couple great trips together this year, one to Wilmington and one to Colorado. Our foster care studying has also sparked some great conversations about our family and life goals. We are also working together on the gardens a lot more and a lot better than ever before, which has been both fun and productive.
-Friends / co-dates: We have started a promising friendship with another couple (the Blands), and continue to hang out with our friends the Hogans on a regular basis, in addition to a few other couples we see occasionally. It was also great to see all our residency friends last week in Colorado.
-Book club: My college friends and I just finished our third book of the year, and it's been fun having people to share my thoughts with and hear what they're thinking. So far, we've read The Road to Unfreedom, Flexible Faith, and Your Money or Your Life-- all of which have sparked some great discussions.
Physical:
-Triathlons: I crashed my bike on my first triathlon in April, which in addition to some gnarly wounds was a gut check on my desire to keep doing them. Fortunately, I had Mindy there to remind me that doing challenging things like triathlons was a core part of who I want to be into old age, and that I want to be that 80 year-old dude who is still racing (and crushing it). So after a few weeks of healing, I got back in the saddle, and ended up placing 3rd in my age group in my second triathlon last month (and was only 2 minutes out of first place). I'm currently dealing with a right rotator cuff flare-up, but otherwise training continues as outlined below:
-Gardening: The thankless stage of preharvest weeding is in full swing, which always makes me question why I garden at all. But I have a very healthy crop of collard greens, carrots, lettuce, squash, kale, and cilantro, and lots of other crops like tomatoes, peppers, and okra are starting to take off:
-Kayaking: I am halfway to my goal of six kayaking trips this year, and anticipate getting closer to ten before the year is done. I have made a couple friends who are showing me the ropes, which helps alot. Next step: learning how to roll my kayak upright from upside down.
-Mushrooms: I've started growing oyster mushrooms on coffee grounds in a more climate-controlled manner, and things are looking promising:
-Bongos: I put in a solid 2 months of practice before life got too busy for it. I'll pick it back up this fall.
-Smoking meat: This has literally been on the back burner, but I'm planning a few smokes for the fall.
Vocational:
Leadership project: My group has nearly completed an important project on the comanagement of patients in the hospital, and I've learned a lot in the process. I've also gained some important mental models as a result of the hospital's leadership program, which will be officially concluding in October.
Family Medicine Residency update: I will be representing the new Boone Family Medicine Residency program at a big national conference at the end of July, and am also leading a transition for procedures such as thoracenteses and paracenteses to be performed by hospitalists, which will be very important in training residents starting in 2020.
Political:
Climate change, environmental activism, and political orientation: As a result of my spiritual evolution, continued reading and learning, and my experience with and education on the far-flung effects of climate change, I have come to see political issues in a markedly different way than the libertarian idealism of yesteryear. Though this has been an important part of my past year, it's too big a topic to tackle here!
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