A friend and fellow blogger shared something that impacted me. Read it here. And for months I have had this desire to have New Year’s resolutions. I am good with lists. I tackle a list like Patton, strategic and calculating. Corporations and non-profits have mission statements. In business, we write policies and procedures. Every professional credentialing board has tenets and requirements for certification. My faith gives me commandments. The Beatitudes are tenets for all of humanity. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy are too. But for my singular life….the thread that is me….what do I expect of MYSELF, aspire for and hope to become? I can collect all of these lists, copy them and put them in a 3-ring binder labeled….Rules of Living Properly….but do I KNOW them. Have I really bought into the philosophy? Have I APPLIED these ideas to a practical life? The baselines are easy: Honor my God. Don’t Murder. Love thy Neighbor. Give to the Poor. Be kind. It sounds disrespectful but…Yada yada yada. Anyone can spew that stuff. But what do I really, REALLY, REALLY believe and what about my construct has been painful, harmful and limiting? The same friend also wrote about HATE here. And I thought about all the other negative emotions and behaviors that we justify as being because of THOSE other people, that are really of our own cultivation. And I asked myself, “Can you give them up? Let them go?” A single marble weighs next to nothing. A bag of marbles is noticeable. A stadium full of marbles can crush a city.
I will be participating in the International Small Stones Writing Project through the month of January. January is the National Small Stone Month, or NaSmaStoMo. Everyday, I will write a small stone. This will be different than my usual daily rock or boulder. Small stones can be skipped across a pond. They can be picked up while traveling and held in a pocket. My oldest son brought me a rock home from daycare and school almost everyday for years. Many other writers will participate in this project too, sharing their small stones.
A STONE is a small, mindful, intentional, acknowledgment of something. It is meant to connect me (and us) to NOW. Right NOW. How aware am I? How attentive to my surroundings am I? Do I appreciate things as I should? Do I give thanks? Do I allow awe and wonder to truly impress me and imprint on my heart and mind? In January, I will. They say if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. January has 31 days…..I will give myself a nearly 50% buffer and hope to create a new awareness and presence.
At least for a month, the Mouth will be quieter. Join me and jump over to some of the other stone skippers. I will be adding a blogroll to the side of those people whom toss stones I find beautiful, provocative and worth a look see. Happy New Year everyone.