Dawn enters in gray garb, less of an entrance and more of a shifting of the light.
Another calendar year begins, the way humans mark their time.
It starts, like every year has, in stillness and silence. Forget the crazed stroke of midnight – my clock for the New Year begins at the first light of this morning. That is when the world is quiet. Contemplative. The way anything of true import should start. The way a calm year should start. We have had our fill of all that is tumultuous.
Looking outside, I see the tall bare stalks of the cup plant, next to the sturdy bands that remain of the fountain grass. When the sunlight is able to break through in the early afternoon, both are lit like flames against the sky and the dull landscape. In the morning, when there is no snow or wind, they stand still and silent, largely gray and unobtrusive despite their stature and prominence of place. Genuine presence requires no fanfare or pronouncement.
And so it is that we begin this year at ALANILAGAN.com – the 20thyear of this website’s existence, so prepare for some double-decade anniversary celebrations. For now, let us begin in relative quiet. There will be other years for boffo New Year’s Day blog posts, such as this one set around ‘Circus’ by Britney Spears or this one featuring ‘The Greatest Show’. Even when I don’t try to go big and brash, a follow-up post often sneaks in the bombast. For this year, I’m back to a silent beginning – shades of gray and somber tones in look, feel, and sound.
In the reflections of trees in water, a change in perspective signals something deeper, a new way of looking at things, a different take on navigating life. So much has changed over the past few years, and so many of us are still reeling from the trauma of what have collectively been through. A worldwide pandemic hasn’t happened like this in a century – to think we are over it, mentally or emotionally or even realistically, is foolishness. We are all living in the trauma of it.
It has changed everything. Not all for the worse, and I’m lucky that my own evolution and discovery of meditation and therapy and a healthier way of living have coincided with such changes. Bringing those tools into the new year will prove helpful, and continue the trajectory that has seen me through the last couple of winters.
I invite you to come along for the next stage of the journey. It’s more fun with two.
