Welcome to 2022. The year is 10 days old and so far, I’ve spent it making plans. There is so much I am working on this year: my artist residency with the National Marine Aquarium; my book proposal; the hikes for the project upon which the book proposal is built; my van build and more.
It all feels mammoth, hence making plans.
Plans and To Do Lists. Lots of them. Pages and pages of them.
I love To Do Lists. Not only do they work they are also incredibly satisfying every time I get to cross something off.
Rather than a traditional diary I have a wonderful weekly planner that functions as both a daily and weekly to do list. It allows me to visualise how much time I am dedicating to each of my important projects, while holding onto other things that matter like walking Gem or reading.
Reading is my New Year’s Revolution. I am not a fan of the traditional New Year Resolution, resolving to do something different always seems to boil down to doing something better. Years ago, I decided I would rather revolutionise my life than resolve it. And so, my New Year’s Revolutions were born. This year’s is to read or listen to 16 books in 12 months. I don’t read very quickly, and don’t always find it easy. With so much going on in the year I knew there was a risk that reading would get lost. I’ve made my revolution to help prevent that from happening. I’ve even drawn up a chart to help me keep track.
I’ve begun with two very different books. The first is Christopher Clarey’s The Master, a wonderful book about the brilliant career of Roger Federer. I love and adore Roger Federer. That is too small a sentence to do my feelings justice. Perhaps the fact that I’ve camped in the Wimbledon Queue for days at a time is a better expression of my feelings. He is one of the loves of my life and the book is a fantastic read.
The second book is Call Us What We Carry, an exceptional poetry collection by presidential inauguration poet Amanda Gorman. The poems cover covid, lockdown, loss, grief, the climate, relationships, politics and more. Gorman is an extraordinary voice for our times and her book is a huge comfort and call to action after the last few years. I’m about a third of the way through and would like to share my favourite poem so far:
EVERY DAY WE ARE LEARNING
Every day we are learning
How to live with essence, not ease.
How to move with haste, never hate.
How to leave this pain that is beyond us
Behind us.
Just like a new skill or any art,
We cannot possess hope without practicing it.
It is the most fundamental craft we demand of ourselves.
Consider those last few lines for a moment:
We cannot possess hope without practicing it.
It is the most fundamental craft we demand of ourselves.
What incredible talent Gorman is to present such a huge and important idea so eloquently and sparsely. We must practice hope for though it is fundamental, it is not easy.
Much of what I am working on this year requires hope. Hope that I can get it all done. Hope that it will find a place in the world. Hope that my van dream will work. Hope that art can make a difference in the fight against the climate crisis.
And so, I am practicing the art of hope. And setting out to see what can be achieved with hope to support me. I know my plans aren’t easy, and I know keeping hope burning won’t be simple. I but I have hope and I have To Do Lists, so let’s see what can be achieved.
I am looking forward to sharing this year with you all. And if I read anything worth recommending, I promise I will let you know.
Long Rock Beach in the early days of 2022
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Beautiful, both Amanda Gorman's words and yours. Thanks for sharing I think I might pick that book up. Hope your great uncle Rag talked to me about the star of hope when had lunch together after mum died. He talked of always keeping your eye on the star of hope cos it would guide us. And if for a moment we could not see it that was just cos the sky had gone dark or cloud cover was great, just to hang on wait not push to hard as it was always there and would appear to guide us again. I remember that conversation so well.
Here's to your star of hope guiding you and keeping you steady with all you will achieve this year.
I love you thanks for sharing
Arlie B
xox
Dear Rosie .... I also love lists .... and my focus for this year is also... hope ... ... in so very many areas of my life ... One of my affirmations for this year is: "I am in love with my future." Sending much love (& even more Gratitude!) from Mexico .... Namaste. xxx