2023
and so 2022 reaches its end….
This was a tough one for me personally with a family death and my own health challenges…topped off with Pearl’s problems. I usually spend the end of the year in some form of reflection but with new medications causing dizziness that too has been disturbed.
On the days I am clear-headed I devise adventures for Pearl and I. She is leading the way on our recovery and I have visions of the Gila and White Sands. We have long chats about how she will not break or tear anything in 2023.
My financial reserves are dangerously diminished from vet bills so the new year will represent some creative approaches. Copywriting from home seems to be most feasible right now…. manageable in schedule and stress.
I like to choose a word for the new year (rather than resolutions) that sort of acts like a beacon for hope and direction. It shall be GRACE.
This word has many meanings….
It is a simple elegance or refinement of movement…flow. I have been fighting too hard for ethical politics, for responsible leadership, for right actions…to my own detriment with stress. While I won’t sacrifice these goals I will see about a gentler, more nuanced strategy.
Grace also means courteous goodwill and civility. My grandmother, the queen of decorum and good manners, would be pleased. Hers was a genteel world of finishing school in high-brow Boston life.
I think the parts of grace that are about consideration and respectfulness will come fairly easily and will temper the world of civic action for me. I am ready to pass any remaining batons to the young idealists growing in our midsts…they have more than proved their capabilities!
Grace also has spiritual connotations … unexpected blessings from God. If I can spend time each day attending to kairos moments the experience of awe is abundant. This is familiar in my world. Saying grace and benediction are all wrapped up in this. Itadakimas.
Finally there is a grace period … a postponement or delay, an interruption or pause. This will be my reminder to surrender, to let go of the independent battle and striving. This seems like an important learning for aging and will require some practice. The last few months of ill health have forced this reality …now I want to adopt it as a choice!
So 2022 draws to an end and 2023 is on the horizon. I have a friend who jumps into a frigid northern lake to mark a new year with cleansing and reignited passion. I see this as crazy and a troubling invitation to raging cortisol and whatever other stress hormones might explode.
I will quietly embrace grace as my light for 2023. In lightheartedness, perhaps I could convince the two small granddaughters to call me “Your Grace!”
What is your word?
