Collaboration

I was recently asked what my New Years Resolution was going to be, and without thinking I said, "To stop being so delusional." We both laughed and threw out more ideas and then my friend paused and said, "I don't think you should focus on trying to not be delusional--I think you just need to spend more time with people who don't think that the way you see things IS delusional." Wise words.

Am I delusional, seeing things that aren't there? Or am I a revisionist, rewriting the past to suit my present state of mind? Perhaps I'm both. Or maybe I'm neither. The perk and the paradox of being human is our ability to see things from our own personal and unique perspectives.

There are many paths in life and every once in awhile we may attempt to walk one with another person. But the truth is, one side of the path may be smooth dirt and the other side might hide tree roots to trip over. One side may butt up to the edge of a mountain, while the other skirts the edge of a cliff. None of us walks the same path, even when we're walking side by side.

For a few days I felt certain that the word for 2012 would be RELEASE. But I'm tired of focusing on what I need to get rid of. So instead I think 2012's word is RENEW. I hope to redirect my energies into the things I love: my art, my writing, my friendships, my family--all the things that nourish and sustain me. All the things that have always been a part of me, even when I ignored them in the fruitless search for something new and better and other. I hope to renew my faith in myself and my own perspective, and to believe that just because I see things differently doesn't mean that the way I see is wrong. And I hope that I can be more accepting of other people's perspectives and embrace the things that make us different and special, rather than trying to wish others into being what I want them to be.