…and let it begin with me…
Greetings in this festive holiday season!! I hope you are doing well. As I begin this year’s letter, I reflect back on a challenging year of self-discovery. My word for the year was compassion, so I began with self-compassion. It was important to me to start 2024 strong. As the year went on, I was challenged on many levels with circumstances that put compassion front and center. I found it to be a layered virtue, hiding under the emotion of anger, which I had to work through to touch compassion. Sometimes I did great with it, and other times I failed miserably. I tried very hard to bring the best version of myself every day. I felt it was the most important thing to do.
In April, I traveled to Asheville, NC, to participate in a 4-day, 10-mile a day walking/hiking trip with Everwalk, the non-profit group founded by Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll. Diana Nyad swam the 100 miles from Cuba to Florida when she was 65, recounted in the movie, Nyad. Yes, it was a thrilling experience to meet her. Not so thrilling on day three of the hiking, when I stepped on some uneven pavement and fractured my foot. At the time, I was reading Trusting Change and that evening I read a line that said, “Life is always moving us off balance.” Indeed. Home I came with a boot and crutches and round two of self-compassion began. It took five months to heal. Better late than never!
In July, I was honored to present excerpts from my book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau, in Concord, MA, at the Annual Gathering of the Thoreau Society, the largest organization dedicated to an American author. It was wonderful to be included with people doing fabulous work to keep Thoreau’s legacy alive. Also, during the year, I converted all my books to EBooks which was a great project and I helped facilitate two Writer’s Retreats here in the northwoods which was fun and fulfilling.
In September, I began working on my newest book, Mum’s the Word, which will be available on Amazon after the first of the year. It is an amazing collection of over 65 drabbles, an essay of exactly 100 words, from people who accepted the challenge to write from a picture prompt of my Little Red kayak. The book is a true testament to Thoreau’s quote, “The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” From the same picture, an incredible variety of essays and poems surfaced.
So enter 2025! As you can see by the “hint” in the title, my word for the year is PEACE. In the book, A Deep Breath of Life, it says, “My own peace is my first contribution to world peace.” I want to be that peace. This year I will turn 70, crazy to me, but here it comes! And with that I take this mantra with me, “To risk being fully alive, in 2-0-2-5.” In order to do that, I have to answer the question: What does being fully alive mean to me? Along with other questions like: How do I show up in the world? What excites me? What sustains me? How and where do I serve? Good ponderin’ for the New Year!
As I approach this exciting new decade, I reflect on a quote by Terry Tempest Williams from her book, Refuge. “I believe in facing life directly, to not be afraid of risking oneself for fear of losing too much.” I’m looking forward to the journey! I wish you peace in your heart and soul in the coming year. Keep paddlin’ on…peacefully…
Mar, marsmrz@comcast.net, www.redkayak.net, (where you can sign up for my irregular and inconsistent newsletter)
Awesome monologue on the practice of introspection, Mary Anne! You’ve just given me such food for thought as I’m working through some issues of my own. Thanks for adding me to your email list!