As December winds down, it’s common for me to turn inward and grow reflective.  I’m an optimistic person by nature and as such, I often begin each New Year thinking this will be my year – you know, the one where all the really good stuff happens.  Unfortunately, over the last few years, life has gotten me down and life has beaten me up.  But I’m keeping my eyes fixed on the horizon, because the end of 2014 promises that there will yet again be a brand new calendar, and a journal full of blank pages with stories waiting to be written on them.  While there are many specific goals I’ve set for 2015 – too many, probably – here are my most important resolutions, pared down to their essence:

Write more stories.  Read more books.  Indulge my wandering spirit.  Practice gratitude.  Plan more coffee dates.  Put my phone away more often and listen.  Make art that I’m proud of.  Spend more time in museums and libraries.  See more live music and theatre.  Take long walks by the beach and gaze out at the ocean.  Regain a sense of wonder.  Laugh more.  Cry less.  Say yes and figure it out afterwards.  Cherish my friends and family.  Take better care of my body, and of my spirit.  Risk more.  Fear less.  Make peace with my past, even if it’s hard.  Especially if it’s hard.  Go somewhere I’ve never gone.  Do something – perhaps many things – I’ve never done.  Learn to play the ukulele – because I’ve decided that would be fun.  Breathe deeply.  Breathe a lot.  Forgive.

Here’s to 2015.  Here’s to embracing it in every way we can.

Until next time, friends.