My son and I put up the tree last night, Vince Guaraldi heralding angels in the background; the solstice and full moon- an amazing confluence made even more magical by a full lunar eclipse. Longest night of the year and the brightest; clear and brilliant view of this rare alignment. A remarkable end to a challenging but…marvelous…year.
They all are, really- if we pay attention. But this one has been particularly special for me for some strange reason. Honestly? If I pull out my “spreadsheet” nothing “grand” happened; my life has been blessed with a few bumps, all negotiable. But those small shifts seem to have brought me to a very different place.
I’ve been “blogging” my way through this recession with the mantra that money is not so important. And I stand by that. We’ve all learned to do with less, to be more thoughtful in our decisions and our purchases and focus on things in life that resonate, that last, that make it matter.
I was at my usual semester’s end architectural juries this week, and one of the words that kept coming up regarding decision-making was “determination”. Great word- simple, cogent. Apt for the design process. Make a commitment, a choice and run with it- whether it seems reasonable or not. Most great ideas seemed a bit sketchy at the onset, didn’t they?
One has to be a little crazy- and a risk taker- to work in a creative field, design or architecture for certain. In the best of economies we do not get rich, and are much blown by economic vagaries. And sitting there last night with my co-creative types- some less employed than myself, others only slightly more- I’m struck by a common thread that continues to weave through our warped minds. We are passionate, single minded and appreciative; we believe that spaces impact how people live in a fundamental way, and we have genuine concern for the process of building. That seems unchanged even when our most exciting recent project was a utility garage. Every one of us there still cares about the process. And that gives me great hope.
Yes, well. There is that silly little nagging and annoying concern about business development. Someone once said, “if you build it they will come”. Hah. I haven’t exactly sat on my hands this year, but there was scant building being done. So? I focused elsewhere and built in other regards. And as we approach the end of 2010 and go into the next decade (really? another already?) I do believe that we are coming through this recession. Changed, yes. And probably for the better. We will prevail. We always do.
A new year approaches, and as it does I consider what I want the coming year to bring. This isn’t about “resolutions”, which always seem to be about fixing something we perceive as negative in ourselves. This is a clear intent about what I want to do, to manifest, to create this year. I’ve found that it actually works- if one lets go of the past and the future and focuses on the possible, all else changes.
So. I am thinking about my “intent” for the coming year. This year was about expanding my little circle- in business and in life, and it actually, remarkably, worked. Healing broken wings, mending, patching, hanging on- and building in other directions. I think I’ll just keep the goals simple and see what unfolds in 2011. Yes, this year is all about that: unfolding. Origami style. Let’s see what can happen if we let life just… be.
To all my friends; far, wide and close by- much love, a merry Christmas, and joy and abundance in the coming year…
and to all, a good night…
