December 2009 Newsletter
Online Issue # 23

Practice Page

“Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.”

-Chinese proverb

Here’s something for you to think about, write about, talk about, wonder about, and try out.

Once we enter December, the race to the end of the year picks up the pace. Who hasn’t experienced genuine relief knowing a particularly difficult year is ending? For however long it lasts, we feel the pull toward a new year: a fresh start, a blank page, a brand new beginning. Maybe it’s the clarity and crispness of the unspoiled that calls to us. We get to begin again.

Challenge:

Notice any themes that call for your attention as you head into 2010.

Before you begin to automatically fill up your days, what do you want your focus to be this year?

Is it your desire or intention to have 2010 be The Year of Dancing Marvelously and Often? What about The Year of Feasting on Fresh Food? Or maybe The Year of Living True? Making A Difference?

Can you see how easily this is becoming a listening-writing experiment?

Listening-Writing Experiment: The Year of....

Even people who dislike lists find themselves drawn into the wordplay of listening and listing. It’s a simple writing experiment that can lead to valuable insights, quickly and playfully.

Consider the year 2010 and your hopes and dreams for yourself and the world. Try playing with the following format for this experiment: The Year of.....

Begin to list possibilities as they occur to you, one after the other. You don’t need to critique anything. Just keep the flow of ideas open and write everything down.

Examples of Themes:

The Year of Inspired Generosity
The Year of Going Social
The Year of Earning My Worth
The Year of Working for Pets
The Year of Fearless Travel
The Year of Befriending My Soul
The Year of Living The Moment
The Year of Cultivating Community

After you’ve listed everything that comes to you, set your list aside. You can always add to it later if you want.

On a fresh page, begin to focus on any guidelines or truths you want to live by in 2010.

Examples of Guidelines:

I will not rush.
I say what I mean and I mean what I say.
I’ll let you know if I’m interested.
Yes!
Let go and be the flow.
Because I like it.
Does this matter?
Is it worthy?
Who will benefit?
How do I feel?

Now scan your themes list for the theme of the year that most clearly resonates with you. Try adding it to the guidelines you just created. How do they seem to fit together?

At this point, you might want to pair your list of guidelines with another theme or two to see how you react. Or, you might decide to customize your list of guidelines to fit one particular theme.

Whatever you do, this is a beginning. It’s a way to begin consciously approaching 2010.

Maybe you’ll be energized by considering possible themes for the year. Maybe writing clear and simple guidelines will feel inspiring. Maybe something unexpectedly wonderful will occur to you, if not right now, perhaps later.

Remember: Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.

Maybe listening is a green tree; maybe you are the singing bird.

Wishing you only the best in 2010!

Laurie Mattila
© December 2009

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