That’s the punchline to a joke my rabbi likes to tell about being true to our true selves. Yes we can change and grow but there is very often a baseline that we stay close to. And as Uncle Milty says: “Under Stress, We Regress”.
So 2017 was a stressful year. While wonderful beyond any thing I ever experienced in some ways, there were some less than desirable events. So I am looking at 2018 with excitement, hope, and faith on one side and melancholy, trepidation, and fear on the other. As my baseline is fear, I have to work to shift the balance. Why shift? Because I find that my fear is usually a distortion of what is real and that faith invariably leads me to love, creativity, service, and peace.
This beachball has become my totem of the struggle.
It drifted, literally into the backyard of the house we had just purchased in September. It was very happy, and just liked to hang out, amuse the squirrels, and amuse me. I started photographing it every week or so. Well as the season has changed, it has decided to hang in there. While losing some of its punch, its lost none of its presence. I have decided that we are in this together, to learn something about patience and perseverance. I will create art with this Beach Ball as my collaborator, and together we will start this year believing that the warmth and light that is to come is already peaking through the trees.
Healthy and Peaceful 2018 to All, except those not granting health and peace to others.
Stark
