Musings and Imaginings

Of late I’ve become acutely aware of a flow and an ebb in my days. In my weeks. Really in my life. It’s nothing unique or new. In fact, it’s as natural and as old as the waxing and the waning of the moon. It’s my awareness of the rhythm of my own movement and stillness that’s recent.

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions; they smack too much of something needing to be put right. Resolutions imply that I’m not measuring up in some way or another, and by simply improving myself in certain concrete ways I’ll be fixed. But over the years I’ve been working on accepting myself as whole and complete just as I am. It doesn’t mean that I think I’m perfect. But it does mean I’m trying to accept myself, imperfections and all. So resolutions feel a bit, well, counterproductive to all that self-acceptance work. That said, it’s not just a new year. It’s a new decade. Even I have to admit that there’s something profound about that zero at the end of the year. The blank-slateyness is just too obvious to ignore.

So, what’s an anti-resolution gal to do when faced with the freshness of a new decade? I can’t speak for all such gals, but this one has chosen to identify practices to focus on in the twenties. Practices feel more useful and holistic to me than setting random goals that may not even matter to me in six months. Practice implies a work in progress, and I’m nothing if not in progress. But this is about more than just me. We’re all works in progress. And so, this may seem presumptuous, but my hope is that you’ll commit to the following practices along with me: