Sparking Joy in 2023

Boganuary WordPress Challenge Jan. 1

The New Year 2023 Started with some good omens, sunshine for one- always welcome in my corner of NW Oregon at this time of year.  The other was my 60 lb Cattle dog mix, Mars, jumped in the shower with me.  Since I got him 2 ½ months ago he’s always seemed fascinated with the shower, sticking his head in and catching streams of hot water.  This morning, thinking he really did want a hot shower, I said “come”, and he gleefully joined me.  If you are a dog lover you would see the delight in that. Plus, it’s an easy way to wash your dog.

I gave up the New Year’s resolution tradition years back seeing it as a recipe for disappointment.  Instead, I have a word (or words) of the year that can act as a guidepost for my annual journey.  I keep them posted in my journal and day planner to deep up the intention.  Last year’s were commitment, generosity, and focus (focus was a repeat from 2021).  I am happy to report I had a decent outcome with those.

So without further adieu, drum roll, my new word of the year is JOY.  After 3+ years of pandemic and political turmoil, a knee injury, and the passing of numerous friends and family, I’m ready for some.  I have this saying, “ spend as much on yourself as you do your car and your house.”  I’m so due for a little repair and maintenance.  This includes…

• Shopping for some new clothes and ditching my threadbare clothing
• Monthly massage & chiropractic for my poor aching back
• Artist’s dates, library dates, field trips, and other little self-care tidbits that put some spark back in my life.

Author and home organizer, Marie Kondo begs the question “does this spark joy?”  That will be mine for the coming year.  I hope you take some time for joy too in 2023.

A Toast for 2023

It’s the season of new

the Earth has spun through the heavens

and arrived at the place we call the beginning

a bookmark we humans have put in the order of things

the New Year, the first day of the first month of the 23rd year of the 21st century

All is new, yet all the same

a cycle in a continuum of millennia

yet a comfort that we have a fresh start in our minds

Shall we proceed then with our new slippers

virgin calendars full of exotic pictures

day planners devoid of marks

and forge on with gusto?

for we have been given another turn

a blank canvas to paint another 12 months upon

Let us mix up our palettes with new intentions

hope, faith and the unseen circumstances that will surely find us

stroke, splash, and drip with abandon

make your marks with love, touching others with color

bringing forth new memories

painting this Earth a brighter place