New Year's Eve 2011

God carelessly painted the gloaming sky yesterday.  Smudges and smears of clouds, rose and peach background mixed with navy blue greys.  God as artist: Who he paints for, and did he care what we thought, and how did he know when he was done with that sky?

Ah.  Anthropomorphism.  Inescapable.

It is the turning of the year once more.  There will be no intentions tonight.  I cannot keep to one or many, so I am taking a rest from that.  Three deaths in quick succession this month remind me of Ralph Waldo Emerson's pungent observation:

"Tobacco, coffee, alcohol, hashish, prussic acid, strychnine, are weak dilutions: the surest poison is time." 

And time is also our most precious gift.    

       

 Last year, I wrote: 

                  

"Intentions for 2011 are more difficult.  The difficulty lies in some huge changes happening in the workplace that will suck a great deal of emotional and physical energy over the next year.  I could make one intention for the entire year (survive the coming storms, and come out on the other side with an acceptable solution).  

So let's see where this leaves me.

1.  Survive the coming storms at work, and come out on the other side with an acceptable solution.

2.  Knit from stash.  One get-out-of-stash-jail-free card, the purchasing of yarn and casting on of a project this year for a coup de coeur.  Seems reasonable to allow at least one of those to happen.  Otherwise, this intention would only meet the definition of scolding.

3.  Lump these uglies together:  finish organization, get down to a happy weight, ramp up the exercise and yoga, continue to minimize high glycemic carbs.  Okay, more scolding, but with a purpose.

4.  Restart origami crane project.

5.  Cultivate curiosity.  I have realized that this is a driving force in everything I do.  I seek.  I learn.  I explore.  I perfect.  I leave behind.  All is in the name of satisfying that insatiable itch of curiosity.  It is a reason to live large and well.

Really?  That is all.  But it is a whole lot in five items.  I plan to do other things that won't make it to the intention list:  cook more recipes from my cookbooks that include vegetable proteins, do a bit more in the garden this year, take a XC skating technique lesson. 

The theme here is to enjoy life more, and make sure there is more healthy life to enjoy.  That is easy to remember, and worth putting energy into making it happen."

I should have just stuck with the themes.  The origami cranes sit waiting for brothers and sisters to join them.  My stash remains out of control.  The uglies are ongoing, and modestly successful.

The successes are notable, and I am proud.  I rowed the 100,000 meter challenge again AND finished.  I survived the work restructuring.  The solution is acceptable until it is not.  At that point, I will fight the good fight, then figure out what is left standing on the battlefield.  I have cultivated curiosity, and intend much more of that this year.  That is not an intention in disguise.  It is a way of living that seems to be working well.  I will stick with that theme (far wiser than I realized a year ago) of enjoying life more, and staying healthy.

My amaryllis is on its second stalk, and at peak.  I am reminded of light and hope in its cheery bloom, of heart and love in the color, and of joy in the unexpected pleasures of an impulse purchase at Whole Foods in November.

 

 

 

Comments

[Cheryl S.]

Excellent theme for a bright new year.

[Marcia]

And here's to all the interesting stuff you left out! Happy New Year!

[Peg In Kensington, California]

I hope my impulse purchase of a red amaryllis will be as beautiful as yours. Congratulations on your holiday challenge. I like your take on work - mine is better than it was, but I am not holding my breathe on that. More curiosity - that's a great intention. I hope you have a wonderful year.

[Lynn]

Strange how we humans are always striving, striving, striving (I certainly do). Would life be as much fun without ever onwards, ever upwards?

[gayle]

Very good stuff.
But you shouldn't beat yourself up over stash. It represents our belief and hope and trust in the future. The days to come will be met with joy and exuberance (and yarn!) because we have invested in it.
Happy New Year, dear friend. May your days be filled with wool and wonder.

[Kim]

My theme is much the same as yours....to slow down and enjoy life before it passes me by. No resolutions because that would add stress and this year I hope will be a year with much less stress and more joys.

I love your More Curiosity! Curiousness is what keeps our spirit young. :)
xoxo

[margene]

Your description of the sky evokes as much awe as would a picture. Beautifully said. If any life is lived with intention, curiosity, and love, it is yours. May 2012 be filled to the top with all that is good.

[Carole]

Enjoying life and making sure there is more life - excellent themes. We got word of the death of a friend this morning and it's a sad reminder that life is fleeting and uncertain.

[Judy]

How is it that we make simpler so difficult?
This is The Theme that appears to be rising to the surface everywhere. Interesting, no? Necessity? The next stop on the path?

I thank you for these words. Beautifully put. Already in my heart.

Happy New Year!

[Anne]

My goal for 2012? Breathing. Seems simple, and yet often not. I hope your 2012 is all you want it to be, and less and more all at the same time. :)

[June]

Happy new year to you!

[Angie]

Try not to beat yourself up at all. There is only so much time. I'd like to knit up my stash, get back to spinning, keep learning French, watch my DVDs, listen to music, clean my house...but what I do is work. Those amaryllis toil not, neither do they spin. But it's all right. What you do with your time is all right. Happy New Year!

[Caroline M]

Just enjoy it. No-one ever suffered injury from an out of control stash, no-one dies by the wing of a crane not folded. Do what you can. enjoy it, smile at the rest. It will all still be there next year.

[claudia]

Awesome rowing challenge! You are doing great with the uglies, as far as I can tell. Can we tempt you guys into some indulgent restaurant food?

[Paula]

XC skating? I'm picturing you skimming along a frozen river Hans Brinker-style, the tassel on your woolly toque streaming out behind.

[elizabeth]

I think this is my favorite New Year's post ever.

[Kim]

After not reading blogs for nearly 2 years, I am reminded that I miss you! Can't we move pesky Connecticut out of the way to get Boston & Philly closer in proximity?

[Melissa G]

Excellent. Does getting new fiber then knitting from the yarn created count as knitting from stash? My secret weapon in cultivating curiosity is the library--I have a state's worth of resources at my fingertips.

[Chris]

A thought provoking post. Cultivate curiosity is my favorite. Yarn is very curious, so there ya go, indulge and be guilt free. :)