For that reason, I hesitate to post anything on big holidays, especially a holiday with such a high-expectation, wipe-the-slate weight to it as New Year's Day. There's a pressure to post something really profound or witty or original on days with such meaning to them, and I never feel as if anything I have to say cuts the mustard.
I was gonna share a photo with a lovely quote on it about flight from Leonardo da Vinci--until I did some fact checking (it's the former encyclopedia editor in me) and found out da Vinci never said or wrote any such thing. (As I see more and more of these memes and stuff making the rounds on social media, I believe less and less that any of them are accurately attributed, or even quoted. Along with da Vinci, I've seen statements falsely attributed to Oscar Wilde, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Rumi, Mark Twain--some of them blatantly out of character and time to the person who is supposed to have said them.) So that leaves me falling back on my own ordinary words and ordinary pictures again.
After thinking it over much of the day, I still can't think of anything worthy of the meaning of the holiday. Anything other than "Happy 2014!!" And also "Thank you" to anyone who's been reading my posts and other work and offering me encouragement and feedback. I appreciate it.
Thank you especially to the person who sent me a personal message and greeting today, to let me know she's been following my blog as she makes her own travels through such places as India and Tanzania and Bhutan on an environmental/agricultural fellowship. It was really unexpected to get a nice message from a total stranger (albeit a fellow wayfaring woman)--and it totally made my day and put a smile on my face. Her name is Lauren, and I've been looking over her own blog and wanted to share the link here. Especially as it looks like she's been doing some really important and interesting work during her recent travels. Here's the link to her blog: There and Back Again: the World Travels of a Watson Fellow. Please take a look. And thank you so much for your thoughtful message, Lauren!
I've been meaning in fact to share a few links lately, so I might as well do that now. This is gonna be the year of the link. Get ready. ;-)
I've made the decision to shut down my personal social media accounts on places like Facebook and Twitter, as they tend to be big time wasters as well as negative triggers for me. I've already shut down my personal Facebook account, and Twitter will go down soon. Instead I've reopened a LinkedIn account last week to help me in finding and sharing freelance writing and editing work. Here's my LinkedIn profile if you'd like to connect to me there.
I also created a Clippings.me profile that compiles some of my publications into an online portfolio. Still adding to it, but it's a good, easy reference to most of my recent writings. Here's the link to my Clippings portfolio.
If you're hungering for some beautiful writing today (and who isn't), here's a story I like to share. Not one of my own, of course. It's by Laurie Gough, and it's a truly haunting and lovely story about her month spent living on a beach on a Greek island, and a mysterious and life-affirming encounter she had there. It's called Naxos Nights. Check it out.
Finally, here's a picture of me in the snow. We got a ton of it last night and today. Happy Snowy New Year from Chicago, world!
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| Clear eyes, full heart, red scarf, furry hat--can't lose. ;-) |
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