New Day, New Year
A new year. 365 days stretching out in front of me. So much promise. I hope I do this year justice.
I spent my New Year's eve right here, with the last two episodes of season seven GOT queued up. I indulged in a Big Mac meal, complete with a coke to add some Irish whiskey to, and settled in to enjoy the evening. At midnight, I lit some candles and said hello to January 1, 2019 by meditating for twenty minutes. Ado had already gone to bed hours before, but he got up long enough to come out and check on me. After a minute or so, he decided his bed was really where he wanted to be.
2018 ended on a good note. I accomplished the two big things I wanted to do for the year: change my last name back to my maiden name and complete the poetry chapbook that I'd started during my sabbatical. My name change was granted on December 18. The last poem of the chapbook was finished just before 6 pm yesterday, after a couple of weeks of working to get a draft in place. When I copied the poem into the chapbook manuscript and saw the last blank page no longer blank, I let out that deep breath that comes after working at something for a long time. I still need to run the entire manuscript through the revision process, but a complete piece is in place.
One decision I made last evening after meditating and welcoming the new year is I'm wiping the slate clean concerning the themes of my writing. For several years the themes have been loss, disease, and anger (lots and lots of anger -- though these particular pieces aren't a part of the chapbook). With the completion of the chapbook, I'm ready to move on. I'm not quite sure what my new writing journey will entail, but I'm really, really ready to say goodbye to the pain connected to the pieces in the chapbook and all the other pieces that spilled out of me over the last few years. Creating those poems taught me a lot about myself, so I'm grateful for the lessons I've been able to take away from this journey, and I hope I keep those lessons in mind as I move forward into my new adventure.
The mantra that I've written down to keep with me wherever I go through 2019 comes from Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das:
I spent my New Year's eve right here, with the last two episodes of season seven GOT queued up. I indulged in a Big Mac meal, complete with a coke to add some Irish whiskey to, and settled in to enjoy the evening. At midnight, I lit some candles and said hello to January 1, 2019 by meditating for twenty minutes. Ado had already gone to bed hours before, but he got up long enough to come out and check on me. After a minute or so, he decided his bed was really where he wanted to be.
2018 ended on a good note. I accomplished the two big things I wanted to do for the year: change my last name back to my maiden name and complete the poetry chapbook that I'd started during my sabbatical. My name change was granted on December 18. The last poem of the chapbook was finished just before 6 pm yesterday, after a couple of weeks of working to get a draft in place. When I copied the poem into the chapbook manuscript and saw the last blank page no longer blank, I let out that deep breath that comes after working at something for a long time. I still need to run the entire manuscript through the revision process, but a complete piece is in place.
One decision I made last evening after meditating and welcoming the new year is I'm wiping the slate clean concerning the themes of my writing. For several years the themes have been loss, disease, and anger (lots and lots of anger -- though these particular pieces aren't a part of the chapbook). With the completion of the chapbook, I'm ready to move on. I'm not quite sure what my new writing journey will entail, but I'm really, really ready to say goodbye to the pain connected to the pieces in the chapbook and all the other pieces that spilled out of me over the last few years. Creating those poems taught me a lot about myself, so I'm grateful for the lessons I've been able to take away from this journey, and I hope I keep those lessons in mind as I move forward into my new adventure.
The mantra that I've written down to keep with me wherever I go through 2019 comes from Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das:
"Time doesn't go to waste . . . it doesn't go anywhere. If time is wasting, you're wasting it."
My hope is I don't squander the time I'm gifted with each day this year. The mantra will be my daily reminder to treat the time I have with the respect it deserves.
Happy New Year!
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