Happy New Year’s Eve, friends.

Today is a good day to reflect a bit – to think about what we did, what we read and watched and listened to, who we spent time with, what occurred in the world close by and far away, and what we learned from our experiences during these past 12 months. I spent some time today reflecting on 2022 by flipping through my journals, looking at art I’ve created, traveling through my photo archives and thinking about what I did and how I feel.

I debated making some lists of things accomplished, trips taken, major milestones, or reactions to the world’s events of 2022…but the truth is life is made of the little stuff, of decisions made and actions undocumented. On any given day in 2022, I had maybe one (or no) important or memorable thing happen, but I had thousands of opportunities to choose how to be in the world in any given moment.

And here at the end of another 365-day turn around the sun, the incalculable little stuff that made up my life this year is what made life worth living all along…

• the times Mr. EndlessSeeker and I exchanged “I love you” and “more”
• the snuggles with our fur-babies, Bonnie and Clyde
• the shared tears of joy and sorrow with family and friends
• the dirty hands and sore backs from digging in the garden, planting new plants, harvesting food
• the scents of flowers and herbs
• the minutes spent sitting on a bench in the woods, holding hands, gazing at the sky, wondering – about everything
• the sleepless nights worrying about loved ones in pain or needing help
• the cups of tea and coffee brewed and sipped before dawn
• the feel of cold air, warm fires, and unconditional love
• the hours spent helping dad as he struggles with the limitations of getting older, as we all do
• the paintings and drawings started and abandoned, and a few completed
• the unexpected moments of awe and wonder
• the choice between sitting or moving
• the time spent scrolling , watching, sharing, liking
• the time spent NOT scrolling , watching, sharing, liking
• the texts and phone calls to and from our son and his fiancee
• the moments of watching/feeling my breath, my heartbeat
• the speaking of kind and unkind words
• the choice to keep my mouth shut
• the reaching out to friends and strangers when the need arose
• the acceptance of things as they were/are
• every time I said thank you, and meant it
• every time I heard thank you, and felt it
• the times I smiled and my whole body responded
• the thousands of moments of starting over, beginning again (because we can, every second)

There are 86,400 seconds in each day. Every second is an opportunity and a decision-point. Every choice we make in the moment defines our lives. Let’s live them with loving hearts and thoughtful minds.

I’m grateful to be alive and looking forward to another year – to witness, to engage, to live and learn and love, with the wonders of nature as my guide. I wish the same for you. Happy New Year, all!

(PS – if you were really looking for a 2022 Top-ten list, I recommend this one )