I need to get back into a writing mood. Dani linked to the Reverb10 project, daily prompts to help you reflect on the past year, and manifest something good in the next. I figured that it will at least give me some writing juice, as well as get my life up-to-date so I can continue this blog into the new year. So this shall be my catch-up post so I can do the previous prompts and be ready for tomorrow!
December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)
Change. I’ve gone from Arizona desert to Texas coast, I’ve gone from married to a man to dating a woman, I’ve regained the bits of me that I lost and lost the bits of me that I didn’t want. 2010 has been a year of big changes, and I’ve weathered them all rather well, I’d say. Life is good. I feel stable and secure and more me than I have in quite some time. 2011 will be about peace. I want to come to peace with the hurt and pain and chaos of 2010, and before then as well.
December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Author: Leo Babauta)
Slacking around on the internet, definitely. But the real question is, do I want to? Yes, and no. Yes, because I’d like to get more writing done, but no because I’m so busy lately that it lets my brain settle and be quiet for a bit. So hmm.
December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)
It’s dark, so dark you can feel the darkness pressing down on you like a heavy blanket. The only noises are the sound of your breath and the cicadas singing. Her hand is in mine and our faces are pointed skyward and all I can see is the deep dark indigoblue of the sky and the millions of stars and the wispy bands of the Milky Way streaking across the sky and she pulls me to her, wraps her arms around me and I lean my head down and we kiss. And then we hear something in the grass and we’re not sure if it’s a deer or a javelina or who knows what so we climb back into the truck and turn on the engine, giggling madly about what if it’s a javelina and it decides to attack the truck.
December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)
It’s no so much cultivating a sense of wonder, it’s keeping the one I already have. The littlest things amaze me, like when the water is so still the city lights reflect on it perfectly, or when the moon is out in the middle of the day, or that one cloud that looks photoshopped but you’re looking out the car window, so it has to be real. I know there are logical, scientific explanations for all of these, but they just tickle the “magic” center of my brain.
December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)
My exhusband. He wanted to go, but I fought until I could fight no more. And then I gave up. I suppose he was more tenacious than I, but I’m glad I did. There is no sense being with someone that does not want you, and besides that, it was not a good situation anyway. I cannot say I have completely let go of him, for he still manages to creep into my thoughts when I’m not looking, to prove he has left a mark on me, on my soul, that will never go away. As quickly as he comes in, I shove him out of my mind because I will not let myself be hurt like that again, nor be hurt by him again.
On that note, I shall end my ketchups for now. At least on this entry. I fear it’s getting a bit long in the tooth.
Glad to see that you’ve joined me on the Reverb 10! Your catch-ups are shorter than mine but much better written. I look forward to the rest of them.