Photo by Braden Collum

Yes it is just another day, and yet, it feels different. As 2020 ends, I can't help but feel relief and hope.  Sometimes we weren't sure we would get out of 2020 alive. What a year!  A brutal, game-changing year.

I am not the same person who toasted to the prospects of 2020 as it opened.  I am better, more resilient.  I know of storms and I know how to dig deep to weather them. I discovered what I am made of this year.  And I took leaps forward with the help of you and many others, and often on your behalf.  I discovered the need for connection, as we all did. And I found new ways to do it. Safely, each sheltered. I leveled up with my creative work.  

And now we begin again. Still in the middle of a raging pandemic. Worse than it has ever been in U.S. Political division still threatens to tear us apart. Racial injustice, the global climate crisis, and ever worsening rich-poor divisions, unemployment, deforestation (or de-desertification in my case).  Our work is cut out for us.  And I know we can do it.  Looking back at my Depression-era grandparents, they knew how to work hard and use little. They saved bits of string and wire against future need. Action born of hard times such as ours. Let's roll up our sleeves and challenge ourselves in ways we never have. Let's continue to find out what we are made of. Now is the time! We were born for this time. At least, I believe so.

What opportunities lie just outside for you? (John Towner photo)
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Snuggled amid the covers, it is easier to stay in bed where it is warm than to get up and face the cold.  I am comfortable and at ease there.  All nestled up against the cold. Yet if I tarry too long, I will miss the day and it's opportunities.

There is comfort in knowing what to expect when.  In our traditions, time to take meals, when to leave for work. These provide a platform to anchor one. I like the comfort of watching a favorite movie again because I know how it ends.  The famous Greek plays were all stories everyone already knew. There is nothing wrong with that... and yet the path to growth doesn't lie that way. To grow, I must leave my comfort zone.  I must try new things, uncomfortable things. I know this in my head, but faced with actually leaving the warm bed or the safety of home, I hesitate.

It is hard to notice that you are comfortable because it just seems right...  Everything is stable and at ease.  And to give it up ON PURPOSE?  To actively seek out discomfort?

Staying with the known or the predictable limits me and what I can bring to the world.

“If you want to find the real competition, just look in the mirror. After awhile you'll see your rivals scrambling for second place.”
― Criss Jami

Photo by Zhiwei Liang

Grandma's birthday.  She would have been 103 had she not passed from this life 11 years ago.  She was love for me.  The first poem I wrote was for her birthday many years ago.  Thinking of her leads me to thoughts of legacy.  What stories will you leave behind?  What mark upon the world?

No one must leave behind a legacy, of course.  A silent passing of earthly time is fine.

​"No man is an island" the saying goes.  Each of us interact with people every day (even sheltered).  It is an opportunity to make things better for those around us.  To bring a smile. Or build a building in the case of universities or performing arts.  Or commission a painting.

There are many ways to make an impact.  And you make one whether you know it or not.  It is best to be intentional about the impact you make.  How would you like to be remembered.... on your 103rd birthday?

Photo by Cristian Newman

Here in the season that proscribes merriment, how does one go about being merry?
Is it a posture?  Do act as if we are merry until we feel merry?

I wonder if the mere words "Merry Christmas" create dissonance for people who can't get to merry for whatever reason.  Does it make them think there is something wrong with them for feeling less than merry?

I suppose it is like saying "Happy Birthday."  It is a wish of goodwill. A love-filled hope for the merriment and happiness of our fellows. 

What does it feel like to be merry?  Laughter, smiles, joy in the company of friends and family.
Many of those are missing in this never-ending season of COVID sheltering.  
And yet I felt merry in the connections over FaceTime and Zoom.  Just seeing my family made me laugh.

This year I decided to face the day newly with few expectations of connection at all. I setup one video call with my mother to make sure I would have company.  I decided to be merry in my own way alone. From there, each phone and video call was an unexpected surprise that brought delight.  The unexpected gift of rain. I feel the new beginning. I feel hope. And I feel merry.

Photo by Pascal Debrunner
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Saturn and Jupiter meet in night sky
Not really true.  They aren't even close.
Appearance deceives

Your vantage point determines how you see things
And often we fail to consider where we are standing when we look

Ethnocentrism, looking at the world through the lens of your own culture as "right" or "good,"
Like geocentrism, which places the Earth at the center of the solar system and universe,
Are versions of self-centeredness common among human beings.

Once aware of this tendency, we can move to a new viewing spot and see from a different angle.
The scientific method is founded on changing conditions and testing, then changing them again and testing.
The world looks different from Phoenix than from Tucson.

All foxes have holes (Ray Hennessy)
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Climbing out of a foxhole could get you shot in World War II.
Soldiers were in trenches for a reason.... to stay safe, as safe as you can in a war...

The courage to go first... to poke your head up and lead, despite the danger, is the stuff of war legends.

When we volunteer to go first in our work, it is an act of service for all those who will come after.
They will learn from watching us.  We will learn too.  Emboldened by our example, they may surpass us.
Good, then we all win.

It's easy to sit back in one's armchair and throw eggs at those who bravely go first.  Critics are a dime a dozen.  And they will always be sure to let you know they don't approve.  The real work is showing up and doing your best anyway.  And of all the critics, the one buried inside yourself, is the most harsh.  Tell that guy to shut it.

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

​Twenty six people in one Zoom room
Years have passed since last seeing many
Some have never met
Yet we are family nonetheless

Scattered across the globe, it is hard to get us all together
But we share the history, the stories, the values, the raising of a single couple.
You can see Miller in many of the faces gathered.

Without COVID, it wouldn't have occurred to get us all together.  The cost of travel is high. But now we can see new ways.  Virtual gathering. We found we loved playing games and laughing together.  Everyone in their funny hats. Playing charades as we used to do when I was a girl in my grandparent's living room. Introducing the next generation to the fun and sharing our family memories.  Helping them meet each other and find commonality. Family some didn't know they had.  We decided to meet again... soon.

Photo by Filip Bunkens on Unsplash

May it prove out our resilience to adversity.
May it mark our renewed commitment to each other, to innocent creatures, and our living planet.
May we see the gift of 2020 with new eyes, for it allowed us to change. 

To understand the importance of each person.  To see that together we live or we die.  It's up to each of us to be responsible for the choices made in our name, not someone on a pedestal pretending he knows....

May 2021 mark the path forward for justice.  Social justice, each person living into their full potential free from social bias as to the limitations of their race.  Climate justice, each person taking steps to reduce their impact on the land and hold faceless corporations feet to the fire.  Cultural justice, raising up the cultures traditionally down-trodden due to colonialism and giving them back their land.  They can lead the way.

The status quo is entrenched and many systems perpetuate it.  There are better ways.  Nimble, fair ways that don't fuel greed.

Photo by Martha Mazariegos on Unsplash
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days of floating
sometimes grabbing onto debris to keep from going under

remember, let the waves hold you
don’t fight them
you will float if you trust and relax

exhausted from treading water so long
I let go and relax
salt water holds me
And I am at ease bobbing atop the waves
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How often do we fight the currents, the sea, in our lives?  It's easy to forget those very forces can hold us up.  That the world is not stacked against us, but for us. The water will hold you.... if you let it.

Photo by Mahesh Chapagain on Unsplash
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It's no fun being told what to do..
Especially when you didn't ask for guidance.

When someone steps into my clinic, it is a sign they are open to suggestions for their good health.
Even then, I must walk the line between arrogant know-it-all-ness and supportive education.

How to foster curiosity in the other?  To help them see the effects of their actions.  In a kind way.

Clarity about what support looks like for you will help your interpersonal relationships.
Do you want someone who sees you and can sit with you where you are?
Or someone who feels they must fix you?