This was another photo I took during a photo walk in Vance Woods. I was amazed that at the beginning of December there were still these roses blooming along with the orange and red Autumn leaves. Many leaves had already fallen so when I walked I loved the crunching, crackling sound they made. All of my senses were in tune to the world around me. I could see the beautiful bold colors of the leaves, hear the leaves crackling under foot while I walked, the birds chirping, animals scurrying in the woods, squirrels scampering and eating, smell acorns, leaves, acrid smoke smell of people burning leaves, see the gorgeous blue sky with only a few puffy white clouds, sun shining bright. The Earth. My foot falls were solid and I felt so connected to the Earth, connected to All.

I took this photo a few months ago when Autumn was wearing her beautiful, vibrant crown jewels. It was taken during a solitary photo walk in Vance Woods. I was mesmorized by all the brilliant color around me. I keep coming back to this photo time and time again for inspiration. When there's cooler weather I feel more vibrant and alive. The gift of life, renewal, and rebirth!

Happy New Year!

In our clear field of vision is what lays before us this moment, this single second, not what will happen in 10 seconds from now, 10 minutes from now, 10 hours from now, 10 days from now, not what happened a decade ago, or even a minute ago. It is happening NOW! Each second there is renewal. We release one second to embrace the next.

I love January 1st, New Year's Day. With the beginning of this new year I want everything to fall into place for me in my life. I feel like I've done all the hard work in years past. At the start of the new year I feel a freshness, a time for new beginnings when the slate is wiped clean and we start anew. I want that expectancy I feel now to exist for me every morning when I face a new day with fresh eyes, a new perspective, a postivie perspective. I have such hopes for myself for this year. I know the surface, superficial things I want, so within the last few days with prayer and meditation, I've gone underneath the surface of things to dig and dive deep. I know the roots, the foundation I have to lay in order to get those things. I have to cultivate things in me, in myself. The key is to be in tune to my true, authentic self.

So in organizing my thoughts through prayer and meditation in the last few days I've come to know I have to have roots and a foundation to build all other parts of myself. I've been exploring this, and in being honest with myself there are cracks in the foundation that have been ignored for far too long. Over the past year there have been times of confusion, anger, and sadness. I think that was all healing for me, so 2011 was a year for gargantuan healing.

Through creative writing, such as when I'm writing on my novel Vance Woods, I'm learning about the path that I am on. I'm learning and exploring aspects of myself. Instead of wading through the muddy, dense muck that holds me back, where I feel stuck, I'm finding myself emerging onto dry ground. I can feel myself, my writing, and many dreams coming to fruition.

One of the key aspects to emerging is to release unwanted feelings, emotions, and things, that weigh me down and hold me back. Letting go is freeing!

I plan my life carefully and cautiously. When I think of the people I admire most in my life they are the people who have not always had a smooth ride in their life, but who have come away from these experiences with colorful stories they embrace. These people can be described as true characters and live their life with spiciness and spontaneity. I love that about them. I want to add a demension of spontaneity, sassiness, and wildness to my life. These aspects of me when cultivated will add richness to my creative writing.

Key words and phrases that will drive and guide me during the year are:

Let go
Unfold
Live fearlessly
All of this done with an air of mystery!

Happy New Year!