A funny thing, winter. From the tilt our little satellite makes while on its journey round the star that is our sun, the temperatures drop in the northern hemisphere, and me and most of my friends experience colder weather. It is cold in Barcelona today: 41º F (5º C) and thick white over cast clouds have completely blocked the sun. Not a fun day to be outside at all. Makes you wonder why the new year starts at this time of year. Winter is the time for hibernation: everything slows down, animals find caves, creatures burrow deep into the earth, seeds lie dormant under frozen ground, waiting to drink the springs from melted snow so they can push their way to face the sun again. It's a beautiful thing, winter. From the death of old grows the youth of tomorrow. It's in our subconsciousness, the timeless sleep cycle. Like the replicants in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, our own consciousness dooms us to deny and fight this clock we cannot stop.
And so we create our rituals, traditions that over centuries become holidays, time off from our workday to close up shop and drink ourselves silly. Probably originating from religious observances where the intention was to reflect upon past grievances and ask forgiveness, our new year resolutions– starting off with sincerity– become guilt-ridden promises to be healthier, drink less, lose weight, which are later abandoned. In Barcelona, like most of Spain, holidays don't end until the 6th January, on the day of the three kings. This is when children get to open the presents the kings have hidden around the house. Sort of like Easter, but with 3 santas instead of the Easter bunny. And presents instead of chocolate eggs.
At a bar last night, my friend Ana tore off a strip of paper and said I had to make a list of wishes for the 3 kings. Instead of giving it to her to mail, I decided to post my list here for all to see. I'm hoping this will inspire some peer pressure from some of you to stick to my intentions for 2009. Here it goes, out in the ether:
1) SPACE to create a workspace/art studio where I can do all design work and work for exhibitions.
2) SELF-DISCIPLINE to do more daily yoga, dance, design work and work for exhibitions.
3) PATIENCE with myself and others, especially to find a balance and not beat myself up for the occasional slippage from my intentions.
4) STRUCTURE time for #1 and #2 so that #3 can happen.
5) BUDGET so I don't blow all my money, and save enough for
6) TRAVEL to another country- this time Mexico- to follow la Ruta Maya and Guadalajara, where my grandmother was born.
7) Become completely SELF-EMPLOYED by the end of the year.
8) Go to Burningman and make an art car, or something. Actually, Mexico is a better idea. BM is great, but making everyday life more CREATIVE and fun is a bigger challenge.
9) MOVE from the city of San Francisco to a place that's my own. And, hopefully, affordable.
10) The original #10 wish was to fall in LOVE. (Why not? It would be nice..) But then I realized that wanting isn't the same as doing, so I've modified this wish to just LOVE MORE. Because, like most things, it's important to cultivate the things you want, so that they show up in your life more. And besides, how else will we balance out the non-love dark matter that is out there?
For what it's worth, this particular turn around the sun with all its chaos and negative forecasting has brought to me a simple but profound thought, which I think is pretty powerful: True wealth has nothing to do with money. The trick is just realizing that every day.
Grind vs. Flow
1 day ago
