1 January 2016

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.  ~T. S. Eliot

One of Mia Tavonatti’s Tile Murals at Newport Elementary School

There’s been a rich and layered expanse of time for me this week, a tangible feeling of it stretching both backward and forward, with my own presence of who I am in this moment the hinge from which it all spans out.

Thumbing through my calendar, I’ve enjoyed both casting my awareness back to savor 2015 and letting anticipation for the coming year unfurl its wings on this new threshold.  I’ve reflected on things I’ve done that I’m pleased or proud of and those successes are renewing my commitments to what I value.  Where I feel I fell short last year, I’m exploring new ideas for going forward into the new year.

As I muse over the past, I continue to discover small shiny shards of life, bits that glint in surprising ways.  Unexpected moments, some nearly forgotten, arise in my thoughts and, like sparkly dots of stars, find a place in some internal constellation.  Like a dab of paint in a Van Gough, or a chip of tile in a mosaic, they add to.  The overall image is clear without examination of the distinct bits, but when I peer closely, I am stunned and delighted by the way vivid dashes of disparate color and energy are the smatters from which a cohesive image comes to life.

Like small tiles in a mosaic, snips of life remembered create a dynamic collage that can be appreciated from multiple angles.

Rounding out one year and stepping into a new one is an opportunity to reap what’s been sown and let the past come forward to both inspire and guide the steps forward into new possibilities.

Mia Tavonatti – detail