happy new year!

Every day is a journey,

and the journey itself is home.

-- Matsuo Basho

Happy New Year! I feel ready to start 2012. I stayed up until just after midnight, had a good night's rest, and am looking forward to this day where I will watch a friend sworn in to a local elected position at noon, and then plan to cook a nice dinner. There will be basketball on the telly, music and Netflix, a good book on the table, and I will put off taking down the Christmas tree for just one more day -- to the delight of the cats and the part of me that loves having a tree in the house!

The year ahead will no doubt have its challenges, as 2011 certainly did. Life is pain, sometimes. And yet, when I look at the context of my life, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to recognize that I have a healthy situation for personal growth: good health, enough resources, the love of those around me, and enough energy to work through any difficulties that are present. I am grateful. I look ahead and pray that I will have the humility and wisdom to embrace what the haiku above is telling us.

I hope you will consider joining me for the January 2012 writing challenge at The River of Stones. The basic info is HERE. I will be posting my small stones over at my other blog, tiny river splash. Have a great day!