What's In Store for 2024?

Setting the tone for the new year.

Happy new year! Hoping for good health, happiness, success and learning, peace and understanding - for myself, everyone I know, and the world over. We can do that for each other; I know we can.

I wanted to get out on this first day into nature, feel the quiet vigor of my body in motion, take in the beauty of mundane things, witness the life force that runs through everything, take paths with uncertain turns, be open to what lay before me. And I convinced my favorite people to come out with me - experiencing it in their own way, at their own paces.

Takeforwards - Vignettes from 1/1 to inform the year ahead:

1 - Beauty is everywhere (as seen in the opening shot); slow down and look for it.

2 - Death can beget new life.

3 - A grumpy face is yet one expression of the human experience.

4 - Growing together in close quarters is not always comfortable, but can be done. (But it requires compromise, making some room for others.)

5 - Seek beautiful colors, even if there are only traces.

6 - Leave no slide unslid, play! (Even if you're in your late 40s... Bonus points if you get your sibs to play along!)

7 - Try new recipes; take notes to make it better next time. (Improvised quiche to use the remaining frozen pie shell from last year or the year before, because I managed to make only one pie for Thanksgiving. It did not set fully; next time, higher egg ratio, maybe some flour added, cheese in the filling, all ingredients mixed more thoroughly, partially bake before topping with cheese toward the end.)

8 - A bit of acidity cuts through the richness and provides a healthy balance.

9 - It's ok to accept help from the tried and true. (Mother Hen's bánh cuốn that she had set aside from a prior dinner for Sissy and me, to supplement New Year's Day brunch, because the quiche wasn't quite enough for anyone; it lined out bellies, but maybe too much, putting us into sluggishness.)

10 - Look beyond bland appearances; they can still provide sweetness. (Tres leches cake that Sissy brought to share, saving me the overambitious effort to attempt a cake with the cranberries unused from Thanksgiving; maybe we try that next trip to the Mothership.)

With that, the overall nudge word that I select for this year is "calm" (while being open to some instances of excitement). The goal is to apply it to situations, to strive to achieve it in my home, to attain it in mind and spirit, to exude it that it might benefit others. (Theory being that a nudge word is more attainable than resolutions - though those can be good to keep in mind and incorporate, too, especially if pockets of calm are attained that allow for thoughtful and intentional execution of a next best action.)

A good start to this new trip around the sun!