By this time half of New Years’s Resolutioners,
have fallen off the wagon with a Kerplunk.
25% don’t make it past the first week.
I’ve never made a New Year’s Resolution, but friends have.

Assorted Pitfalls include “diet & exercise aren’t showing results”
“knitting isn’t so much fun after all”.
“I decided I like smoking’
‘I thought painting would be easy’.

It’s an instant gratification society.‘3 easy workouts’, quick results’ ‘ fast food’.
The cheaper, less energy required, the quicker, the better.
But is it really?
Have we forgotten the value of the journey itself?

Re-evaluating health & lifestyle goals/ or ambitions,
intention is often overlooked.
Purpose lost, misdirected or short sighted.
Is intention declared, the journey respected, including the bumps along the way?

We celebrate the hero/ heroine who chose a difficult path, reaching goals despite insurmountable obstacles. We relish this kind of story, applauding their passion. Do we believe in the hero within ourselves as much?

With silent intention, I step to the easel, embarking on a path devoid of instant results.
It is time consuming & challenging.
Value is produced in sweat, contemplation, elation, even failure.
The process lacks templates or apps.
Where the expression ‘back to drawing board’ means exactly that.


NEW 8×10 original boards

I have an unquenchable thirst to improve, despite understanding I will never know it all.
It is an investment, like many things worthwhile.

Unlike resolutions, Vision Quest in Ojibwa tradition requires an individual to leave the community, venturing into nature to seek purpose in life, their role in the universe linked to creation and the creator.
A key is to be removed from all distraction. Immersed in wilderness, visions and clarity emerge.

p.s
My Mom has never made a New Year’s resolution, or taken life for granted. A nurse, her family, work,& health, all priorities. She taught yoga when I was four, had us chug wheat germ shakes when I was a teen. My first trail run experience was with Mom.

When the incurable disease began to weaken her body, her attitude and humour didn’t. For each activity that she could no longer do, she added one she could. Biking became golfing, swimming then walking.Now unreliable for creative work, her hands clicked keyboards, she became an even more voracious reader.
Unable to stand in the garden of her design, she built the last rock wall almost entirely on her knees. A stunning masterpiece it remains.

Recently, I asked Mom if it bothers her when others take life for granted,and aren’t proactive about their health. “Of course not” she exclaimed, voice strong, despite not being able to swallow. “They will have regrets. I don’t have a single one”.
Thanks Mom.