The Year of Gentle Strength

As 2022 approaches I have set a new year intention as I have done since 2009. My intention is Gentle Strength. This is a practice of taking the time to sit and notice what is in the moment. Gentleness is a soft touch. Strength is perseverance and agility. Separately, Gentle and Strength seem in opposition, but together they are a recipe for presence, awareness and compassion. 

How I recognize moments of Gentle Strength is with my breathing. When my breath flows easily, freely and deeply I know that I have tapped into Gentle Strength. Discomfort can occur when moving towards this intention because it requires stillness. Sitting in stillness takes time to notice the body, mind and breath. This practice requires patience to melt away anxiousness, fear and doubt. For me stillness leads to release, relief and even joy. 

This image I took in Stamford, Connecticut at Cove Beach, reminds me of Gentle Strength in that the weathered rocks yield to the fluidity of calm waters extending into the horizon where distant land joins the sky. Clouds above are thought bubbles moving through awareness. I imagine myself sitting on these ancient rocks as I overlook the Long Island Sound, breathing in synchronicity with the rippling water and breezy air. Headiness yields to grounding. My body, soul and spirit are warmed by sun beams and blessed by the fairy fleck of light seen in the bottom left corner. 

Gentle Strength is here and now. 

The Year of Wisdom

For the past ten years in December I have set a personal theme for framing the upcoming year. As I reflect on 2018 and consider the possibilities for 2019, the year I turn 50, the recognition that speaks to me is Wisdom. 2019 will be The Year of Wisdom.

Am I wise? I am ready to embrace the exploration. In 2018 I experienced a lack of trust in my wisdom - the reluctance to embrace my knowing. This was at the core of challenges I faced that seemed like mountains I could not climb. Throughout the year in my dreams this mountain was envisioned as watery slides that I tried to traverse in my little Smart car. Last night I dreamed I navigated my car, filled with friends and family, slowly but confidently upstream towards the top of a mountain where we stepped into an elevator to take us to our destination. Ironically, that mountain was Las Vegas and the elevator lead into the Flamingo Hotel.


This dream tells me that I am ready to embrace my knowledge and experience to evolve into this next lifestage. Plus, have a little fun, take a few risks! Life doesn't have to be so safe. I can navigate the challenges - with the trust of friends and family to support me on the journey. I've got the Smarts. I can navigate the river and push upstream.

Image on the new yoga mat my mom and dad gave me for Chanukah.

 

As I approach 2019 I take the opportunity to fully discover and celebrate my nearly 50 years of journeying that has brought me to the Year of Wisdom.
Here is what Psychology Today says about Wisdom - it resonates with my pathway:

All About Wisdom

Wisdom is one of those qualities that is difficult to define—because it encompasses so much—but which people generally recognize when they encounter it. And it is encountered most obviously in the realm of decision-making. Psychologists tend to agree that wisdom involves an integration of knowledge, experience, and deep understanding  that incorporates tolerance for the uncertainties of life as well as its ups and downs. There's an awareness of how things play out over time, and it confers a sense of balance. It can be acquired only through experience, but by itself, experience does not automatically confer wisdom. Only now are researchers beginning to look into the social, emotional, and cognitive processes that transmute experience into wisdom. Wise people generally share an optimism that life's problems can be solved and experience a certain amount of calm in facing difficult decisions. Intelligence—if only anyone could figure out exactly what it is—may be necessary for wisdom, but it definitely isn't sufficient; an ability to see the big picture, a sense of proportion, and considerable introspection also contribute to its development.

Here's what Spirit Animal Totems says about dreaming of Flamingos:

Flamingo Dream Interpretation

Somewhat similar to the ant, when you have a flamingo dream, it symbolizes your sense of community and cooperation. In other words, if you focus on working together toward a common goal, you will be successful. A dream of this type may also indicate that new experiences and situations have now come into your life. Alternatively, it could also mean that you are overly concerned with your physical appearance and have failed to love yourself as you are.

Sailing on the Bay

Last night was the perfect evening for sailing on the with John, Maureen, Lucy, and Skipper Jeff. I took a corner seat on the starboard side and was often close to the water as we were facing into the strong winds. What fun to be nearly kissing the water.

Impact of Many People Living in a Small Area for Thousands of Years

London has been a city, or at least occupied by people, for nearly two thousand years. This has a direct impact on its cleanliness. Rubbish falls and so does hair and of course bodily waste. You see the hair in every nook and cranny along the streets and especially in the walkways of Tube and train stations. Most bodily waste finds its ways into corners as well but I’m not going to gross you out further. Or maybe I will…

I’m getting over the endless hairballs continually floating along the floor in these public places. But now they are in my house. The floors are covered with them. Its not that we are dirty people they just seem to follow us in. Now I’m finding this gunky stuff in everything. Yes, I’m suppressing an extreme freakout.

Then there’s the water. People will tell you strait out that water form the tap has been through something like six people before it gets to you. At first I was filtering it thinking that would make it clean. Hah! Stephen doesn’t even drink the water and he can eat from foodstalls on the streets of Mexico City without getting sick. Now I use bottled water for everything food related except brushing my teeth. Now that I think about it I’m switching to bottled water for that too.

Have you seen those people who wear surgical masks while they walk or bike around cities? That’ll be me in a year’s time.