Evening Balance

dreams dangle on threads of silken thoughts

luring us on to capture each one

evening shadows blanket each dream
©CV, 2020

created in Buncee

It is in the noticing and wondering stage that creativity sprouts seeds. The potential of the creative mind is limitless. I need to know that my sweetest dreams can grow into thoughts that dangle on silken threads waiting to be realized. I write to capture each one, balancing them in the pendulum of life.

My #OneWord2020 Balance in evening light

I send my Slice of Life on to Two Writing Teachers

and #EduBlogYear.

New Year's Day Thoughts

My thinking exploded on New Year's Day Mass when the priest decided to end his homily with a poem, In Memoriam, (Ring out, wild bells) by Alfred Lord Tennyson. This beautiful elegy provided time for me to contemplate about the old year and the new one.

In Memoriam, (Ring out, wild bells)

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Continue reading the poem here.

The church fell silent after the poem ended and I was filled with the positives of what can be in 2020. When I returned home, I reread the poem and found this beautiful song that lifts Tennyson's words. When I hear the church bells ringing in the future I will think of Tennyson's poem that inspired me to write about my one word 2020, balance here.

I plan on keeping a healthy assortment of positivity around me to balance my lifestyle. Will you join me in the one word quest? For the time being, I will follow the Poetry Friday Roundup road to  Carol Wilcox's blog site. Our host has an inspirational poem by Maya Angelou that makes me wonder if this was a tribute to the use of one word to guide the yearly journey.

#OneWord2020

As winter settles in with green landscapes and warmth, a sense of newness surrounds. Neighborhood streets reflect a quietness. A lone squirrel dashes and scampers along bare branches while a couple of birds soar across trees. A neighbor walks her dog and another jogs along. Nature finds her balance and nurtures winter. 

stillness sustained

within patterns of life-

harmony nestles in

©CV, 2020

⭐

The reoccurrence of this scene helped shape my thoughts as  I waited with eager anticipation for the Times Square ball to drop on New Year's Eve. Along with millions of reflective individuals, I decided to use one simple world as an effective way to guide my 2020 journey. In the past, I chose the following words, openness, listen, believe, joy, hope, and embrace. They served me well. This year I looked through the eyes of nature to help me navigate the duality of life and merge my professional and personal sides into a workable flow. 

⭐

In 1917, poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox penned, The Year. This poem quickly became a mentor text for me that further shaped my thoughts about my one word.

What can be said in New Year rhymes,

That's not been said a thousand times?

The new years come, the old years go,

We know we dream, we dream we know.

We rise up laughing with the light,

We lie down weeping with the night.

We hug the world until it stings,

We curse it then and sigh for wings.

We live, we love, we woo, we wed, 

We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,

And that's the burden of a year.

⭐

What can be said of a year gone by?

Shall we reflect or wave goodbye?

I think I'll usher in another year

Filled with promise and good cheer

One that lets my imagination fly

To write my simple one word in the sky.
©CV, 2020

I introduce my #OneWord2020: 

BALANCE- 

not a hindrance, nor a burden,

an emergence of thought,

a breath of fresh ideas

interlocking  my two worlds,

professional and personal, 

into a design for an enriched lifestyle.

©CV, 2020

⭐

Why did I choose balance?
In my unretirement days, I have been struggling with finding balance in life. Sometimes my two worlds, professional and personal, intersect and other times they collide; the professional side  often overtakes the personal side. Balance is a word that promotes evenness and harmony just like nature painted a picture of such these past days. Balance has crept up in thoughts and digital inspirations for at least 5 years.

My quest to uncover a balanced life starts with small tasks, positivity, and a quote by Thomas Merton, the inspirational,s 20th Century monk, writer, theologian, social activitist, and poet. 

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony.

Commitment Statement

This year, I enter a new year and a new decade with balance as my one word to :
Bare my soul. 

Align my thoughts.

Linger in solitude.

Always search for peace.

Notice nature's harmony. 

Cease the busyness to find

Evocative moments to savor.
©CV, 2020

"To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven." (Eccl. 3:1)

⭐

I am ready to share my blog post with my fellow writers at Spiritual Journey Thursday. My colleague, Margaret Simon, is our host this month at the beginning of the new decade. Sharing our one word is an annual event. Happy New Year to all!