While it’s a cliché, each New Year’s day reminds me of how quickly time passes by. It’s rare to have an uneventful year and 2022 was no exception. Last spring, my partner’s mother went through hospice and my parents visited me in Florida. I made a trip back to Minnesota in April to visit my grandma when she got sick and then her funeral in August. In the late fall, I had hip surgery. Most of the year was spent trying to figure out problems with my own health.
It’s too early to tell what the new year will bring. Each January, I spend a little time contemplating the direction of my life. I suppose that this is not unusual or unique. It’s rare that I make explicit resolutions; I typically make general and less focused resolutions. For example, this year, I want to spend more time writing on this blog.
If I’m honest, I haven’t fully fledged out my feelings towards social media. I’ve been off Facebook and Instagram for the last year and half. While I have no interest in returning, I’ve always felt the desire to record and share my life online. If nothing more, than simply to document what’s going on.
Posting on microblogging websites is easy; find a picture and write a few lines to go along with it. If you’re not in the writing mood, just add emojis instead. If you want to rant, then write a long post. But traditional blogs have never felt like that to me.
To make a post, I feel the need to write an essay; to have something substantial to say. It feels necessary to proof read, and ensure that what I’m writing is coherent. For that reason, I’ve struggled with posting consistently – or, frankly, at all.
To be fair, I do write and make posts – but I usually choose not to share them because I don’t feel they ‘make the grade’. This year, I’m dropping the bar and my own expectations. Sometimes, it’s better to just create art, even if it’s sloppy or incomplete.
There are a few general directions I’d like to orient myself for this year. One of them is that I’d like to have a regular meditation practice. Specifically sitting and not a movement based practice, though I would love to do Tai Chi regularly as well.
Another direction I’d like to embark on this writing posts on here, with the intention of writing weekly. I don’t have rules beyond that for post length or quality. Mostly, I want to share pictures and write in a way that I can refer back to and reflect on in the future.
The final thing I’d like to add this year is a dedication on consuming less digital content (i.e. YouTube, news articles) for entertainment. Instead, I’d like to find entertainment through books and ‘manual’ mediums. Ideally, more time would be spent creating or doing nothing. More thoughts on that later.
I suppose that is enough for tonight. Josh and I decided to take a lazy night in for New Year’s this year. The picture at the top is from a few days ago when we did a spontaneous trip out to Tallahassee!
Everyone Wanders 