I'm not one for New Year's Eve parties. I was married to a musician a long time ago and had to spend every New Year's Eve sitting at a table surrounded by very loud, very drunk people I didn't really know while my husband and the band were up front playing. When the kids came along I was more than happy to stay home and have a quiet night in.
If I had to pick my very favorite New Year's Eve, it would be one night when I was living in the country. We were blessed by a crystal clear night and a sky filled with stars so bright they lit up the night. At the stroke of midnight I went outside and place one hand on the massive trunk of my favorite tree, and with the other hand, raised a glass to toast the earth and every living thing on it, and to make a wish that the New Year would be a kind and abundant one for everyone. I think I felt closer to God and Mother Earth that night than any night before or since.
If you've been following my blog for the last few years you know that I am not one who makes New Year's Resolutions. I make promises, both to myself and to others. One of the values I hold the highest is that when you give your word, you keep it, even if it's to yourself and even if, after you've given it, you wish you hadn't. It's not always easy and I'm not always on track every single minute of every single day. but I do my very best, know when I'm not doing my very best, and try again.
So this year on New Year's Eve I will sit with my journal and write down all the promises I am making for 2019, set the intention to keep every one of them no matter how hard, and, weather permitting, I just might go outside and see if I can find a tree I can put my hand on (I hope the neighbors won't think I'm tipsy if they see me holding on to a tree but, seriously, how many folks are looking out of their windows at midnight?). And maybe, just maybe, God, and Mother Nature, and I, can usher in a wonderful, blessed new year!
And so it is.
