marjorie says...
HAPPY 2007 m-pyre friends!
I can't believe it's already 2007. It seems just yesterday that we all thought Y2K was going to be the end of the universe. Do you all remember that? Instead we got the WTO protests in Seattle. That occurred right before I moved to Albuquerque from Seattle. I'll forever feel fortunate to have been there during that event because it was a big turning point for me. Being part of a 50,000+ strong crowd that is willing to bring a city to a standstill over economic policies demonstrated in real time two important things for me that before had always been simply hearsay from older people in this country, or things that happened elsewhere but never here, in the belly of the beast:
1. People really will make a stand. Apathy in the land of plenty does not in fact rule the day even though it challenges us greatly.
2. There is strength in numbers. Undeniable strength is to be found when we work together. For all our fantasies, lone hero's aren't our saving grace. We are...working with our neighbors.
I have a tendency to get sentimental when a New Year begins. Maybe because its a collective marking of time passing, plain and simple...like a birthday for all of us on the same day at the same time. Since those late days in 1999, every New Year's has found me reflecting on how I spend my time, and inevitably I get around to thinking about those two real life lessons. It was exhilarating to be in that crowd demonstrating against something, that then became a demonstration of something even more profound for my own life. I needed it. And I still need reminders. As time flows, my energy ebbs and flows, sometimes I'm not as productive as I would like to be. But I know that as long as I am contributing in some way to a collective effort for positive social change in 2007 I will have a positive assessment one year from today...even if all the personal things I want to accomplish are only 50/50.
And what are those personal things you might ask? Well, I do have a few that I'd never mention here. But I can say that I have a goal to READ actual books. I'm a lifelong reader...but it seems with the advent of the internet I make less and less time to read actual books. So my resolution is to make a list of 12 novels and read them by the end of the year. Of course, in addition to these will be the novels and potboilers recommended by friends or that I stumble across. But the actual list will be predetermined and I will read all those books. I refuse to look back on my life 20 years from now and see that I quit reading during the early years of the internet. Would love to hear any resolutions that any of you have...hint, hint.
Again, Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all have a safe, happy, productive year...and find time to drop us a line here now and then. We love your comments!
ps. feel free to check out my travel pictures over on m-pyrical.
1. People really will make a stand. Apathy in the land of plenty does not in fact rule the day even though it challenges us greatly.
2. There is strength in numbers. Undeniable strength is to be found when we work together. For all our fantasies, lone hero's aren't our saving grace. We are...working with our neighbors.
I have a tendency to get sentimental when a New Year begins. Maybe because its a collective marking of time passing, plain and simple...like a birthday for all of us on the same day at the same time. Since those late days in 1999, every New Year's has found me reflecting on how I spend my time, and inevitably I get around to thinking about those two real life lessons. It was exhilarating to be in that crowd demonstrating against something, that then became a demonstration of something even more profound for my own life. I needed it. And I still need reminders. As time flows, my energy ebbs and flows, sometimes I'm not as productive as I would like to be. But I know that as long as I am contributing in some way to a collective effort for positive social change in 2007 I will have a positive assessment one year from today...even if all the personal things I want to accomplish are only 50/50.
And what are those personal things you might ask? Well, I do have a few that I'd never mention here. But I can say that I have a goal to READ actual books. I'm a lifelong reader...but it seems with the advent of the internet I make less and less time to read actual books. So my resolution is to make a list of 12 novels and read them by the end of the year. Of course, in addition to these will be the novels and potboilers recommended by friends or that I stumble across. But the actual list will be predetermined and I will read all those books. I refuse to look back on my life 20 years from now and see that I quit reading during the early years of the internet. Would love to hear any resolutions that any of you have...hint, hint.
Again, Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all have a safe, happy, productive year...and find time to drop us a line here now and then. We love your comments!
ps. feel free to check out my travel pictures over on m-pyrical.
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