From the fear

I think that my intent to emerge this year requires me to replace some concerns about the scary situations with a need to experience.

Expansion. Trying things that scare us creates expansion.

The more expansive our life, the more we could to experience things that we might actually enjoy.

Fear and danger

To avoid danger is oftentimes the avoidance of life itself.

When we do something that scares us, that we perceive as “dangerous”, it could open up entirely new possibilities to us.

Try and do something that scares you.

Busy? Or lazy…?

When we fill our schedules with constant activity and “productive” tasks, we might actually be ducking the harder work of introspection, meaningful relationships, or tackling our most challenging and important goals.

In this way, staying busy can become a comfortable hiding place – avoiding what we should be focusing on.

Mono no aware

Mono no aware (物の哀れ) is a Japanese aesthetic concept that captures the gentle sadness or wistfulness felt when encountering the ephemeral nature of life and beauty.

The term, which literally translates to “the pathos of things,” is particularly evident in Japanese art and literature, such as in the falling of cherry blossoms or the changing of seasons, where the awareness of impermanence heightens rather than diminishes the appreciation of beauty.

Being mindful of the impermanent opens us up to the beauty around us.

Knowing vs. understanding

Knowing. A possession of facts or understanding.

So perhaps they knowledge and understanding are positioned differently.

Understanding, then, may be a basis of knowledge.

But not the whole thing.

Understanding may be that which leads to knowledge.

Does it serve you

There will be a time when you can no longer deal with certain things.

At that time, depedning on the situation, let it go

We use this too often in relationships, and too little in the rest of our lives.

Try to maintain your relationships, and try not to worry too much about less important things.

My wins

Thinking about yesterday, some of the postives centered around work.

Last year was one of the most personally creative years I’ve had, at least in quite some time.

Of my own projects, no less than half a dozen made progress.

That’s something. And it’s the basis from which can build on.

The year in review

Trying to look at the year objectively can be a bit of achallenge.

There’s a lot of good that happened this year, a little bad, and mostly the rest fell in between.

How is that different from any one else, or any other year for that matter?

Emergence

It’s been several years since I’ve set resolutions. I don’t know when I did last.

I think I supplanted them with word choices. 

This is a practice I picked up from a podcast in (or around) 2015. And while I’m not always consistent, I do believe I think on them at the changing of the year.

As for this year, my chosen word is emergence, and it is something that I hope to carry with me each day.