Small fist-fulls of soft white snow gently falling outside my window. A steaming hot cup of tea. A square of my favorite deep dark rich chocolate. My dog lying at my feet. This moment.
The blank screen stares. The cursor blinks. I should write something truly important..truly momentous. It is - after all - the last day of this past year.
How to even begin to enumerate...evaluate...calculate? I can't. How to honor and celebrate the old...while welcoming and inviting in the new? I don't know. It's been a year...like so many others.
There have been thousands of individual moments - seen and captured thru my camera's lens. Hundreds and hundreds of words written. Endless miles walked. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've rolled out my mat and saluted that morning sun. Every day - exactly the same..and yet each and every one - uniquely different.
I begin. I end. And - I begin again.
The perfect metaphor for practice..for life. We start our days...and finish them. And somewhere in between is the 'stuff' that makes it all worthwhile. The 'stuff' that has no words or images or anything other that might describe.
The sound of laughter. The salty taste of a tear. A fleeting thought. A furtive glance. A shy smile. A blush. A hand that reaches out and touches another. A warm hug. A heart beating. The moon's glow. The sun's rise. The sense of peace in silent solitude. Stillness. Breath.
As this year comes to a close - I have no thing to show. There are no great mountains that I've climbed. No oceans that I've crossed. No great trophies I've placed proudly up on my mantle.
I began 2012 with the intention to 'be brave'. To be honest..to be true..to commit to finding my authentic voice and vision. And brave - I've been. I've met my personal challenges with courage and grace. I've met myself with greater understanding and compassion. I've stepped out of my zones of comfort and opened my heart to possibility. I've held my own hand..dried my own tears..become my very own best friend.
Before closing this one door and opening the next - I'm celebrating. The good..the bad..the ugly. I'm honoring the moments in between that can not be enumerated...those stories that can never be told. And as I enter into this new year..as we all begin once and again - I remind myself of the importance of just 'this'.
Of just simply showing up. Of being present and alive and aware. Of accepting 'it'...embracing 'it'... of owning 'it' just as 'it' is.
For this new year - I'm setting my sights and intentions towards focusing in...taking right action when right action is for the taking....and leading with a soft but confident voice. I want to continue to inspire..and be inspired. I want to continue to share the 'teachings' as they've been taught to me.
Now - in this moment - I am listening to the sound of silence. I am seeing the snow falling. I am smelling the sweet cinnamon in my hot tea. I am tasting the bitter-sweetness of the dark chocolate as it melts in my mouth. I am feeling the softness of my sweet pup's fur against my bare feet. I am awake. I am alive. I am fully aware.
Honoring the successes..celebrating the disappointments...releasing it all.
Welcoming in the new.
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Cross-posted over at Vision and Verb - where a like minded collaboration of women from all over the world gather to share their passion for creativity and the written word.