(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: Notebook #100: Many miles to go, I think! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-22 Here at Top Comments we welcome longtime as well as brand new Daily Kos readers to join us at 10pm Eastern. We strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find! Once it gets past December 20 or so, I tend to go into a reflective mode about the year that is now passing; the good, the bad, the indifferent; events that made me happy or sad, trials that I went through (my two trips to the hospital!), friends made and acquaintances lost...I could go on. I don’t think that I reflected on things so much when I was in my late teens or early 20’s over even in my 30’s very much. To the extent that I did, reflection was more a matter of reflecting on the immediate past days and then trying to put something like a plan of action together for the future; something that I didn’t think so much about when I was younger or even now. As I think about it now, there was a very definitive moment where I started the serious reflective mode. It was December 2010, I was in Boston (don’t ask) and I looked in the mirror and I saw...it. For the first time. I looked in the mirror and saw a gray hair on that “dirt” above my upper lift that some people call a mustache. When I was drinking and doing drugs, I knew not to ever seeing gray hair. But I got sober in my late 20’s and, on the whole, I enjoyed my 30’s; I think because I was just beginning to become myself. And then...that! At 43 years old, I still felt that I had a long ways to go and, as Robert Frost so memorably put it, “miles to go before I sleep.” And I still have things to do. I don’t reflect in a morbid way but I do think that I have conscious and unconscious thoughts about actions that I have taken and not taken. I’m considerably older now. In fact, I had acquaintances and friends and family members that did not live to see their 40’s for various reasons and here I am, still going, in spite of everything. Reflection on the past, my past? That’s human, I suppose. But I know damn well that I’d better not reflect so much that I forget to tie the shoes that I have on now and get to walking. Comments below the fold. TOP COMMENTS Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down. Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig. Highlighted by patricia13: This comment by peregrine kate in boatsie’s Kitchen Table Kibitzing post. Highlighted by NotSoNew: This comment by Paul C in Pakalolo’s post about arctic rivers turning orange from iron contamination. TOP MOJO Top Mojo for yesterday, Thursday, December 21, 2023, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo. TOP PICTURES Top Pictures for yesterday, Thursday, December 21, 2023. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you to the wonderful dKos staff who made it possible to continue this feature in memory of jotter! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/22/2213359/-Top-Comments-Notebook-100-Many-miles-to-go-I-think?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/