Solstice 2012

The world as we know it has not ended.

I will not be staying up until midnight local time to be really sure and I will just have to trust that either I will wake up with the cat on my bed in the morning or……the cat and I will both be gone.

I am good with either outcome.

But now I am snuggled on my couch in front of my fire with said cat and the dog (who does not like to get on the bed), all my Christmas lights lit and favorite Solstice music playing. Today was a glorious day; bright blue and white, sunny and cold. Tonight is cozy by any standards and I am blessed beyond measure, having come safely through the fire of the last 18 months. It is a perfect night to set intentions for the New Year.

I have been disenchanted with the concept of New Year’s resolutions for quite some time….maybe 20 or 30 years. They seemed to be an object of ridicule; a feeble auntie trotted out in her finery only to be made fun of.  I think it became a game of how quickly they could be abandoned:  “So, Sue, how long did it take you to break your New Year’s resolutions?” “Oh, mine were in shambles in 2 weeks.” “Well, I’ve got you beat….I broke mine within 6 hours!”

Whatever.

Resolution: |rezəˈlo͞oSHən| noun

1 a firm decision to do or not to do something.

I think part of the problem with “resolution” is it sounds so….dictatorial? Unforgiving? Puritanical? Certainly not very friendly. Anyway…it just wasn’t working for me.

A few years ago I read somewhere, or it came to me in random musings while I was hypoxic during a run, or I otherwise hallucinated it, but somehow the idea of the practice of setting intentions got into my brain. The phrase itself brings a comforting sensation to me…..nurturing; allowing for the ebb and flow of the tides of life; adjusting the sails; rolling with the punches and all the while keeping one’s eye on the prize.

Intention: |inˈtenCHən| noun

1 a thing intended; an aim or plan.

And so I began setting Solstice Intentions:

I intend to continue to progress.

I intend to laugh every day.

I intend to begin to make the 1 anonymous good turn part of my mental health practice.  

These were made in the dark and dwindling days of my marriage and I was struggling big time. They buoyed me, kept me going, gave me permission to miss the mark and keep trying. I just had to breathe and re-adjust my aim.

This year I am a bit more concrete:

I intend to publish my book this year.

I intend to continue doing anonymous good turns; “pay it forward”. 

I intend to practice my music at least 3 days a week. 

Now they are out there and you know them, too. I know you know. There is power in writing these down, kind of like expecting that your homework will be checked.

To celebrate I am going to take my dog out for a walk in the clear, cold night. After all, Orion is waiting in the winter sky and it is already midnight on the east coast!

Bless!