I used to dread going to funerals, but now I think I'm beginning to appreciate the beautiful sadness of it all. Even the things that seemed the most bizarre to me about funerals, such as families posing and taking pictures with the deceased, don't seem as bizarre when I remind myself that people grieve and process differently.

Sitting in a church pew and watching people shuffle down the line to pay their final respects causes me to reflect on my own life and what I can do to improve myself and make the most of my short stay here on this wonderful and crazy planet. If I were to evaluate my life as it stands now on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being Most Awesomest and Excellent, I'd give myself a high 7. I am satisfied in general and I've experienced some really fantastic things, but I know I've still got a lot of learning and growing to do. I'm not talking about work...although there is certainly a lot of room for learning and developing my craft. I know people who schedule their lives around work. Conversations with them revolve around work and if you were to ask them how they are doing, they almost always respond with something like, "I'm so busy with work." I wonder whether someone whose main focus in life is work could truly be happy, satisfied or fulfilled as a person. It's possible they are, but I don't think I would be. I don't want my life to be dictated by work. I imagine myself lying on my deathbed and looking back on my life. I'll bet you everything I own that I won't be thinking, I sure wish I had spent more time at the office.

My career and making money was my main focus when I was in my early 20s but not so much these days. Don't get me wrong - I still work hard and I continue to strive to be great in my field. But I'm older now, and my focus and priorities are different from what they were 10 years ago. Cultivating good relationships with people and gaining knowledge and understanding through experiences are more important to me now. If I'm going to be busy and exhausted all the time, I don't want it to be because I'm working 12 hour days. I want it to be because I am connecting with people and because I'm learning and experiencing new things. Work pays my bills and I certainly get a lot of enjoyment from what I do, but that's not enough to keep me warm and happy. Not for the long run, anyway.

It'll be interesting to see what my focus and priorities will be 10 years from now. That is, of course, assuming that I'm still alive and kicking. But in the event that I'm not, I expect all of you to come to my funeral and take pictures with me. :P