Almost my birthday

It's almost my birthday. I'm nostalgic by nature and though aging thus far has not freaked me out (maybe 30? 40?), I always get introspective at my birthday. I have three things I'd  really like to focus on this year (not in this order of importance).

1. Feeling confident. I've started running and while yes, it's important to me to be healthy because you've only got one body so you might as well take care of it, the thing I've loved the most is how it tests my confidence. I find my brain/lungs/legs screaming at me "WHAT THE CRAP ARE YOU DOING!? I CAN'T DO THIS, I CAN'T DO THIS!" and somehow find another part of my brain that calmly replies, "Um, yes. Actually, I can." 
2. Testing myself. Pushing my brain, opening my mind, reading and thinking and not shying away from things that scare me. I've found in myself a lot of stagnant beliefs and thoughts that I use to define my life. It's time to air out the old brain and start examining some of these things. We want to have kids some day and as I really faced that thought (scary) I realized I needed to know what I was going to teach them. Yikes!
3. Being kind. I'm not a naturally nice person. Even when I try to be it comes out awkward. I give a bad impression to people and I say stupid things. I get really riled up and angry towards people I think are cruel or ignorant, which seems okay as they are (in my opinion) a) cruel and b) ignorant. But it's not okay if I really believe that to "love your neighbor as yourself" is something I should strive for.

On the note of #3, I was reading this blog posting and I liked this. It's not the first time I've ever heard it but I think it bears repeating because this world can use all the love it can get and I have a hard time actually acting like all of these people she mentions are my neighbor.

It is only when we consider our enemies as human beings - with a story of their own to tell - that we can learn what it means to love our neighbor. Because your neighbor is the gay kid who hanged himself in his own backyard. Because your neighbor is the bully who harassed him every day in English class because he feared what was different. .... Your neighbor is both the man who wants to burn the Koran, and the man who sees the Koran as the holiest of books. Your neighbor is also the man holding a [ironically] rainbow striped "God Hates Fags" sign, and the grieving father of a soldier killed in Iraq whose funeral is being picketed. They are all human, all people with a past, a present and a future. And they are all your neighbor.