Memories of Ponte Vecchio...
Looking over the year past is the task of the month. Our media is filled with lists of the best books, movies, songs, TV shows, news, etc. ad infinitum. On a personal level we try to make sense of how our own memories stack up as a part of the whole. AND this year I have some remarkable memories. Looking through my image files for this month's missive showed me events and adventures that have excited and nurtured my heart.The end of the month, then, brings us the opportunity to determine what we want from our new year. Like the people crossing the Ponte Vecchico in Florence, we all need to prepare for our journey and to know where we're going... and maybe even why.
Resolutions seem rigid to me and they tend to fail when they confront an obstacle. In my world, determinations are purposeful intentions, giving rise to flexible decisions that enable me to stay in tune with my intentions as Time finds ways to muddy the waters around me. See?
I've been writing some new things recently and I look forward to telling you about them by the time the coming year starts feeling a little old around its edges. In this way my year past is carrying over into my year-to-come. I always relish my New Year's Eve review of last year's determinations and setting my new intentions. I like keeping my list to just a few major notes, to create a workable chord for the whole year. Some years I even choose a theme song to represent my new intentions. Of course, because I obsess, I make my notes to myself with beautiful type and enjoy choosing colours, backgrounds, and textures that enhance my determinations.
I invite you to review your own year past and to prepare your own notes to yourself of determinations all ready for New Year's Eve. Write them by hand on a little cocktail napkin as you raise your glass if you like. See what you think...
and remember Vonnegut's request:
I urge you to please notice when you are happy,
And exclaim or murmur or think at some point
"If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."
