Hi Friend
What a week!! The first one of 2023 was crazy good. First, I had a friend surprise me with a “Run into the New Year” experience. You run a 5k starting at 11:45pm so at the turn-around it’s midnight. A cup of champagne and fireworks right at midnight, then you run back. I loved it so much! Truly one of my most favorite experiences. Combining running and new years eve was just the best!
This week also put one of my Christmas presents from my kids to work. I have squirrels that run up and down my fence. My kids got me a squirrel feeder that is a picnic table, plus a bag of corn. I found out squirrels don’t like to share and their playfulness can turn mean, when it comes to food. This too has weirdly brought me loads of joy this week watching them eat.
I also was out speaking. It’s fun to be back doing what I love the very first week of the year. That’s unusual and I’m grateful.
The turning of the year is the holiday I like most. I like fresh starts. I like the big notification from my friend Time that he is continually moving forward. I like the aspirations of individuals even if there is no way those resolutions are going to stick. I like the increased pulse of imagination that beats in our minds. I like the energy of hope.
The collective societal belief that we are going to be better generates a national momentum that is rejuvenating. Even if it is only for a few days it feels like the impossible is possible. It feels like we all agree THIS YEAR is the one we will live our #BestDaily lives. It feels like we see our full potential & decide we’re going to live it out for the world to see too. It feels like big faith.
The Possibility of Love
The core driver of every decision we make is fear or love. Both can be irrational and compelling. Both can make a lot of sense and whisper faintly. Both can be thwarted: Fear with courage and love with self-preservation.
Fear shrinks, love expands.
Fear denies, love offers.
Fear resists, love attempts.
Fear constrains, love unleashes.
Fear reasons, love imagines.
Both of these are constant companions of our soul. At the annual turning of the clock however love bombards us. All the positivity, all the possibility, all the potential comes rushing to the center of our being. We believe. Even for just a moment we think “What if…” and then fear shows up to squash our willingness.
Fear makes a lot of sense.
Love is the grandest act of faith we can extend. It’s vulnerable, selfless and sacrificial. It’s deep commitment, costly and a choice. Fear is prudent, safe and reasonable.
What if our goal this year wasn’t to accomplish something but to stay in love? Not with another person, but in a place of love for all of our decisions to flow from. That would be a risky adventure!
Instigating Ideas…
1. Go for a run.
2. Go out in nature.
3. Acknowledge a fear and consider a way to diminish it.
4. Love as big as you can.
One thing 2022 taught me is that some of the strongest love is forged through pain. I don’t particularly like that association. It’s certainly not the message all the valentines marketing is promoting. Love prefers others. The ripping away of our self-centered nature hurts. Likewise the common occurrence of disappointment feels that much more significant when it happens through the lens of love.
Since I started writing you, my squirrel friend showed up to eat breakfast. He always makes me smile. My kids get a daily picture. I think because it was a gift from them – and I know this sounds a bit far-fetched – there is a residue of love on it. I’d like to believe every word, action and item given from a place of love somehow retains that powerful essence even when the person is no longer present. The possibility of love is endless!