[Note from the Proprietor: In case you're wondering what it's all about, well, we're smack in the middle of BLOGAPALOOZA! Hey, you're welcome to join in the fun if you like! All ya gotta do is click that cute little link and read all about it!]

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Guest post by Jean Browman who writes over at Transforming Stress and Cheerful Monk

One of my all-time-favorite birthday cards was from Peanuts:

Linus: Don’t think of it as just another birthday! Think of it as another year spent mastering the intricacies of a rewarding and demanding life!

Snoopy: Well, that sounds better than “There goes another year down the tubes!”

Hmm…. Not a bad concept to ponder at the turn of the year.

I was supposed to pick one post per month and give a brief description of it, but instead I decided to look at both of my blogs to see which picture and which posts resonated the most. This picture was at the top of the list, and my favorite posts were

From Transforming Stress:

• Life As a Shared Adventure
• Honoring Our Comfort Zones
• Can You Take Yourself This Lightly?
• Bringing Out the Best in Ourselves
• Following the Path, One Day at a Time
• Don’t Forget to Laugh!

From Cheerful Monk:

• I Saved a Human Today
• What’s Your Favorite Photo?
• Living Deeply By Writing
• The Joy of Being a Blockhead
• This Mystery Called Life
• Knowing What We Prefer

The posts are about living deeply and writing about it…and about loving, laughing and sharing. The reason I love the picture so much is it combines the two.

This past year had its challenges and achievements, but in the end that’s not what was important. If I had to summarize 2008 in one word, that word would be rich.

So was it just another year down the tubes? Oh, no. I think not.

(p.s. I’m the one on the left.)
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[Further note from the Proprietor: Hey, if you're interested in having your own "best of 2008" posts highlighted right here at the Middle Zone, then by all means, click on this link: (BLOGAPALOOZA: What I Learned From 2008) and read all about it! BLOGAPALOOZA will be open for entries from now until Sunday, January 25.]

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