 BALANCE – Kara Cavel
My word for the new year is balance. Over the past year, I have had a difficult time holding the tension of the opposites. This year where this is sadness, I would like to also find joy where this is ugliness, I would like to find beauty, where there is hopelessness, I would like to find hopefulness. Tolerating ambiguity and the complicated nature of all things is my approach to balance. LIVINGNESS – Laura Crosby Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj shared, “There is something exceptional, unique, about the present event, which the previous or the coming do not have. There is a livingness about it, an actuality; it stands out as if illuminated. There is the ‘stamp of reality’ on the actual which the past and future do not have.” In this livingness I find a vivid intimacy with the wondrousness, the preciousness of life. (Emphasis added.) CURIOSITY – Marilyn Erickson Curiosity is an essential force of life! In How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell writes about curiosity as "bringing us out of step with the everyday"; like Alice going down the rabbit hole. It can be enjoyable. It can be frightening, We have it in childhood and, hopefully, retain it into adulthood. Because curiosity can orient us to something outside ourselves it has the potential to get us involved in something so much that we forget about ourselves, even if only for a moment. EMPTY – Louisa Foster When the pandemic first began, I characteristically flew into action, trying to figure out how to get our programs and offerings online, how to keep our community connected, and get the information needed out to help everyone feel resourced and supported through the crisis. Two years in, I am more relaxed and realize how much of a need for empty space there is in my life. Space for non-directed thought. Space for creativity. Space for mystery and the Sacred. Emptiness invites possibility and silences ego. Emptiness will allow me to listen more closely to what is subtle, hidden, and sublime. HOPE - Jenna Lopez My word for 2022 is Hope. Living through the pandemic has brought many new challenges and struggles. The biggest challenge for me has been in maintaining some sense of Hope that things will get better. Hope that we will find ways to face these challenges together. Hope that whatever the new normal is going to be will involve a stronger and better sense of community. Being able to remain Hopeful in these times is a skill that I want to do a better job of cultivating in 2022. RECONSTRUCTION – Pamela Mueggenberg Reconstruction (n): 1. the act or process of rebuilding, repairing, or restoring something. 2. the re-creation or reimagining of something from the past by using information acquired through research. 3. a process by which scientific principles and techniques are applied to physical evidence in order to create an accurate understanding of a past event. I have chosen the word “reconstruction” for this year. We are now two years in of a collective trauma, one that baffles the mind and stresses the body. I would like to look back on this era of illness, fear, and conflict with a compassionate heart and nonjudgmental observation. I am going to make an effort to make some meaning of our experiences but also to help build a different future, one where we value common humanity and help each other heal and thrive. I'm also going to try and reconstruct my relationship with my body, a relationship that has been put on the back burner as I prioritized others during this pandemic - investing in self-care, meditation, movement, and a more mindful relationship with food will be a welcome change. We’re not done with Covid yet, but reconstruction can begin before the trauma ends - and in fact might be what we need to end it.
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