Sunday, January 3, 2010

happy now year

living fully present



In the New Year, we are thrilled with the idea of facing new endeavors. The new stuff of tomorrow we promise ourselves we will meet head on. Certainly, the New Year gives us a sense of courage and hope for the future.

Equally important is the Now Year. In the now year, it is about being fully present in the everyday, about appreciating the stuff we already have, about the steady completion of tasks already begun. I read somewhere that a new journey does not always mean traveling to a new place, a new journey could be seeing the same old place with new eyes.

I wonder if anyone has ever taken an old item from their home, wrapped it, and re-gifted it to himself? It seems silly, but I am going to try it! Instead of the excitement of newness, I want to foster the excitement of nowness!

The image above is a close-up picture of a pregnant belly cast we took of Jennifer when she was pregnant with Wilson. We decorated it with colorful glass stones embedded in mortar. The sculptural piece sits peacefully in the bamboo in the back yard. We see it everyday, coming and going from our daily activities. By using fresh eyes (with the help of a digital camera), it helped me stop for a moment to appreciate how the children had pressed these stones into the mortar, and I see its beauty again.

To see our old stuff with a new perspective, a renewed sense of reverence, it expands the spirit of the thing. We then transcend the materiality of the world. Things don't lose their value. In the era of eco-friendly and green, this represents true resource conservation, a spiritual sustainabilty.

Sustaining our spirits, the Now Year has begun.

4 comments:

softearthart said...

Hi, I find myself being very content with what I have and not desiring anything else,living in the now. Cheers and "Happy days" from New Zealand Marie

Rick Tan III said...

Thank you, Marie. Happy days to you as well! Rick

Heather said...

I need to try and remember the "now" much more than I do. Thank you for the wonderful reminder

Melissa said...

Beautifuly said! Thanks for the inspiration :)