Last Call: A Track And A Book To Ponder Life's Big Questions

This, from the Texas instrumental group They Will Destroy You, is the type of music that makes you lay on the hood of your car, stare up into the night sky, and ponder all the questions life throws your way.

Last night I finished reading Taking The Leap, a quick little book by American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön. The book has a whiff of the self-help genre such that I'd normally avoid it, but a friend gifted it to me (what are you trying to tell me, Ryan?) and I'm glad he did. Luckily I'm not struggling with addiction or anger issues as the book is aimed toward improving, but its basic Buddhism 101 takeaways are still a good kickoff to a new year: slow down, take breaths, analyze your own reactions, have compassion when other people react. Even if all I retain is the habit of pausing to breathe a few times a day, it's for the better.