Well, hot damn. We’ve managed to survive another year. High fives all around, people. The big transition from the old year to the new one is different for everyone. For a lot of people, it’s a time for deep reflection and possibly voodoo rituals. Other people just want to quickly slam the door shut on the passing year and hedge their bets on the next. Some people see New Year’s Eve as the last hurrah for holiday hedonism, with January 1 bringing new resolve and healthier eating. For still others, it’s just another couple of days. As we wind down 2013, I feel a little like a runner at the end of a marathon. I’m a bit banged up and worn out but I’m elated to be crossing the finish line. The older I get, the less I know. So in the absence of earth-shattering insights, all I can do is offer up a few observations about the past year and my hopes for all of us for the new one.
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2014 was a challenging year for a lot of people, myself included. It seemed there was an inordinate amount of hardship, heartache and loss for many friends, family members and loved ones. At times, it was almost surreal. But while we can’t always control outer circumstances, we don’t have to allow them to define us. In the coming year, I am not buying into any limiting narratives, nor will I continue to review highlight reels from past mistakes. I am more interested in the spacious plains of possibility than the dank vaults of regret.
May your personal storyline be bold and hopeful. May it illuminate your highest and most beautiful self.
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There were some unexpected endings this past year. But attendant with these was an epic sense of liberation. Distance gives us the invaluable gift of seeing things as they really are.
May you have the courage to walk away from people and situations that no longer serve you. May everyone in your life be worthy of their place there. May all be tender with your heart.
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I worked to the point of exhaustion this year, with dubious returns on some of my investments. While I am not at all averse to burning hard to get the job done, I’m no longer willing to do so at the expense of my mind, body and life force. To use a football analogy– my work ethic has always been to put my head down and grind it out for incremental gains in yardage. But there’s got to be a better way. In the coming year, I plan to throw more Hail Mary passes. And I hope to God I hit the mark.
Here’s to more ease and flow for all of us. May our work mean something.
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One of the most meaningful and inspiring experiences for me this year was hanging out with the scientists from Project Violet. Their creativity, passion and dedication restored my sense of optimism and gave me renewed hope for this weary world.
No matter how bad it may seem out there, take heart in the fact that there are brilliant and compassionate people working to solve our biggest problems and to create unprecedented changes for the better.
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For the past five years, my nasty downstairs neighbor has hung his underwear on my mailbox, engaged in loud domestic squabbles with his family at all hours, regularly pissed all over our shared front porch and offered cigarettes to my children. As I write this, he is loading up a U-Haul and moving out.
As of today, I believe in miracles. May you find yours in 2014.
Happy New Year & Namaste to All!
