Starting Up, Starting Over
On New Year's Day I had time (like many of the rest of us, from the statistics) to go around and catch up on blog reading, write a few notes to friends and family, pick up the house a bit...you know, all that stuff that's been neglected or postponed. There's still plenty to do, but I can see the world starting up again. Yesterday as we came up to the studio there was absolutely no one on the streets -- no one! Today, not as much movement as usual, and not all the shops and offices were open, but people were definitely out and about.
I managed to drop my camera sometime near Christmas, and it stopped focussing -- so there will be fewer pictures here for a bit, while my beloved Canon S95 is out for repairs. J. has been generous about lending me his, and I've got my phone...
One of the blogs I visited recently was Seon Joon's. I met her online in the early days of blogging, and then, not long after, she moved to Korea and became a Buddhist nun. She now has a blog again, where she posts near-daily "small stones," an occasional excellent photograph, and longer pieces about her life, and I can't recommend it highly enough: her wisdom, humor, directness, and good sense always delight and inspire me.This quote of hers caught my attention yesterday, and seems a good way to begin the new year:
"I fall down way more
than I stand up; but Zen Master Seung Sahn, who is one of my root teachers,
always said, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Well, here I am, falling
down again. And laughing, while I get back up. That’s life. That’s living."
And while we're visiting websites, fans of Teju Cole's writing might want to check these links to 12 essays he wrote in 2012.
---
I'm not a person who makes resolutions on January 1, but I do spend some time reflecting back, and thinking forward. Here are some of the odd thoughts I've had about the months ahead:
Continue teaching/leading meditation and developing and recommitting to my own daily practice
Focus my online energy on this blog, and otherwise into real-time life, work, and relationships; e ither get off social media entirely or limit time spent there
Do something with my Iceland manuscript and drawings
Continue and build on the artwork focus of last year
Just do the best work I can, without comparing, or competing for attention
Get outside and walk every day
Read more this year (I've got a good list started)
Explore some new recipes, and have people over more regularly
Drink more tea, less coffee (it's all decaf for me, anyway)
Take advantage of more cultural opportunities in the city
Get out of the city more often
Be optimistic: "Fall down seven times, get up eight!"
What about you?
