naming the year
December 27, 2014 § 4 Comments
The act of naming the New Year is a personal tradition that began in friendship, borrowed from another’s idea it has become a thread of thought that tethers my days to intention against the fullness of life’s daily distractions. Rather than resolutions, too fragile against the brittle stubbornness of old habits, I shape the year by first sounding out a single word that becomes a lens for personal growth.
Today I am scribbling possibilities with the elaborate scrawl of a child playing at their signature. Looping my thoughts around dramatic pen strokes and sounding out the New Year.
scribblechic 
That is a tradition of ancient cultures. Instead of 1864,1865, etc, it would be the ‘Year of the Rains’, Year of the Illness’ etc.
I wonder if these names were foretelling or reflective. I am a poor historian, but it seems only logical that humans have a natural inclination to name their world with understanding. This particular exercise of naming the New Year is very meditative for me as it invites a reflective mindset and nurtures conscious intention.
In the Lee household, our years are named for us by ancient Asians who assigned twelve animals to personify them. It’s nearly the Year of the Goat… so it’s bound to be messy and funny and destructive and productive.
I wish I had a guide, ancient or otherwise, to lend insight and humor to the year to come. I suppose I’ll just muddle through making my own mess and looking for wisdom along the way. Happy Year of the Goat!