Happy New Year

2 Replies

Welcome to 2015, kind and gentle reader. If you are like me, you are feeling reflective this morning. I’ve been in this funny liminal space, this in-between time for the past week or so. There was a big rush up to Christmas, speed mixed with a sense of rest and slowing down along with a dose of chaos — conflicting energies. In that in-between confusing time, there was also the energy of the coming leap into the new year. Rushing, being still, leaping forward. It’s exhausting.

And now I find myself pausing, contemplating what comes next, what I want for myself, what matters most. How do I want to spend my energy, my effort, my time in 2015? I’m spending some time today considering these questions. I’m grateful to those who have offered prompts and processes that can help.

Or, if you have no interest in answering questions, I offer you this poem, this wish, this prayer, this holy yes for your 2015.

God Says Yes To Me by Kaylin Haught

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don’t paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I’m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes

Reverb 14: Day 31

2 Replies

nourish2015Project Reverb prompt: “What’s on tap for next year? Share your big (or small) goals with us. Why did you pick those goals? Are these things you’ve always wanted to do? How are you going to get them done?”

My guiding word for next year is “nourish.” This means to feed and to cherish, my primary goals for the coming year. This will require making some very clear, careful choices. I need to consider exactly what I want to feed, what I cherish. Earlier in this year’s reverbing, I mentioned the story Pema Chödrön tells about feeding the right wolf. It’s from the first chapter of her book Taking the Leap.

There was a story that was widely circulated a few days after the attacks of September 11, 2001, that illustrates our dilemma. A Native American grandfather was speaking to his grandson about violence and cruelty in the world and how it comes about. He said it was as if two wolves were fighting in his heart. One wolf was vengeful and angry, and the other wolf was understanding and kind. The young man asked his grandfather which wolf would win the fight in his heart. And the grandfather answered, “The one that wins will be the one I choose to feed.”

I want to feed and cherish my relationships. My marriage, my friendships, my family, my dogs, my self.

I want to feed and cherish my work. I’m not sure of the specifics, but it will certainly involve writing and teaching.

I want to feed and cherish my practice — writing, meditation, yoga, and dog.

I want to feed and cherish my body. To continue to find all the ways it wants to be healthy, how I can support its wellness, how I can be embodied sanity.

I want to feed and cherish my creativity. Reading, making art, taking long walks with a camera in my pocket, enjoying what other artists offer.