As we stand at the doorstep of 2013, we look out at the
virgin year, unspoiled and empty in front of us. We can also look back at all the successes,
mistakes, laughter and sadness that filled 2012. You may not be where you anticipated being as
2012 came to a close, but this is where you are and there’s nowhere to go but
forward. We are who we are from the road
we have traveled and experiences we gained.
2013 is like a farmer’s field, tucked in with a blanket of
snow, waiting for spring to come in a few months and uncover the fertile soil
waiting underneath, ready to grow whatever the farmer sees fit. The field may have grown corn last year, but
that doesn’t dictate what it will grow this year, perhaps beans, alfalfa,
potatoes, hops or even corn again. The
same is true with our lives. We have the
power to cultivate the year we want. 2013
is open to limitless possibilities. If
you like how 2012 went, and want to continue that into the New Year, the path
forward is easy because you’ve walked it before, but changing from the status
quo is more difficult, it takes more effort.
Live the year you want, don’t live the life someone else
wants you to live. Our time here is too
fleeting to follow someone else’s prescription.
This is not to say a husband should ignore his wife and do whatever he
wants, couples lives are intertwined, but make sure your desires and interests
are explored and not languishing in dormancy.
The blank slate of a new year provides an opportunity to do
all the things you’ve been meaning to do over the years, but have left
undone. This is the year to try your
hand at homebrewing, to buy a new camera (or learn to use the one you have) and
take the photos that have escaped you, to take a trip and see sights that have
remained unseen, to learn how to bake a pie like grandma did, to bike to work
or volunteer more. This is the promise,
and beauty of a new year.
My year is already beginning to fill with excitement. Northern Wisconsin is blessed with many
beautiful waterfalls that I’ve visited, and had a quiet moment at during the
summer months, but I’ve always wondered how they looked draped with snow and
ice. So this year, I’m going on a
Wisconsin Winter Waterfall Waltz through the north to check out Copper Falls,
Potato Falls, Saxon Falls, Morgans Falls and Big Manitou Falls to name a few
(If anyone has a favorite waterfall I should visit, let me know).
A good friend has been harping on me to write more; using
the Stephen King advice of writing 1000 words a day. I’ve failed miserably at this, going weeks
without putting any words on a page, so in 2013 I’m going to make an effort to
write everyday. I may not end the year
with 365,000 words, but hopefully I’ll have 365 days worth of words. Following along this line, I want to get an
article printed this year in a publication.
I’m not sure which publication or what the article will be about, but at
years end, I want to be able to say I’m a published writer (Mammoth Tales not
included).
The New Year allows us to take stock of what worked and what
didn’t over the last year, enabling us to continually improve our lives and the
enjoyment of those lives. The turning of
the calendar gives us a tool to reset our lives and look to the future. Enjoy 2013 and make it your best, I know I
will.
I’ll end with a quote from Sigurd Olson, “one of the real
tragedies in life is to waste time when there is so much to see and learn.”
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