My Prayer and Mantra for 2017 -- Do Not Waste Time on People and Things That Don't Matter

In this era of fake news, fake political candidates, and fake people all around, my prayer and mantra for 2017 is simple:  Do not waste time on people and things that don't matter.

In 2016, I spent too much time and money on things and people who didn't matter.  I allowed myself to become distracted by stuff that, for me and Black Man Not Blogging, didn't really matter for our happiness.  These distractions not only didn't improve the quality of our life together; they decreased it with additional and unnecessary stress.

The good news is that, for the most part, we're okay.  Yeah, Trump and his ilk really suck, but instead of a lot of hand wringing and commiserating, I'm going to do the one thing my late mother She Who  Is Exalted (SWIE) did better than anyone I know:  Play the hand you've been dealt.  My mother was a black female without a college education and with six kids, so playing the hand she was dealt was her survival skill.  Now it will be mine.

She also didn't spend a lot of time on things or people who didn't matter.  She was too focused on her purpose:  Raising six children who didn't end up on drugs or in prison.  For the most part, she succeeded.  To the extent that what someone wanted from her detracted or distracted from her purpose, she really didn't have much time for them.  She was too busy playing the hand she was dealt.

Well, relatively speaking, I've got an even better hand to play.  I am educated.  My job is pretty secure.  I make decent money.  I have good health insurance.  My elderly father is safe and well cared for.  Most of my siblings are retired and living like teenagers with money.  There are things I want to see, do, and be while I'm still relatively healthy.  I want to enjoy more of the people I love and what I've worked for.  I refuse to get my anxiety up over things I can't control.

I do not want to waste even a second on people and things that don't matter 2017.  That is my prayer and my mantra.

Happy New Year to you and yours.  May you also not waste even a second on people and things that don't matter in 2017.