“Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Taking down the Christmas tree is always the final act to close out another year. It, even more than New Year’s Eve, is my signal that it is officially out with the old, and in with the new. By the time we had the tree down and out on the porch it was almost ten o’clock at night. But our neighbor had a burn pile going, and the stars were out, so what the heck. Why not just drag it across the field and throw it on the fire? Each grabbing a branch we pulled the tree across the winter ground and heaved it onto the flames. It caught immediately, the needles and branches quickly burning away until all that was left was the trunk, which would succumb soon enough. We watched, mesmerized, as the sparks flew skyward in celebration.
It was official. The old year was burned away, sparking a new one, full of possibilities and opportunities.
What ideas are capturing our imaginations?
What might we bring forth in this new year?
Who might we become?
What might we contribute?
These early days are kindling for the fire of this brand new year. Let’s keep it stoked.
