| The photo is from the “Art in Bloom” flower show at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. People made a flower arrangement to go with a piece of artwork they loved. |
| Spring is my favorite time of year. It is a time of rebirth and new beginnings. Here in Minnesota the crocuses and tulips are popping out of the ground and the leaves are reappearing on the trees. The days are longer and warmer, and the birds are returning from the south and building their nests. Soon we will see geese walking through the yard. The gander in front with goslings walking in a straight row behind him and the mother goose at the tail. My birthday is in the spring so for me it is the start of a new cycle. I like to reflect on the prior year and set goals for the new year. What is my mission for the new chapter in my life? The characters in my novels have big goals or missions such as saving their planet, fighting for freedom, or rescuing their loved ones. My goals are gentler and quieter. My spaceship is my Toyota nicknamed Yoda. My planet is Earth and I can only travel to the stars in my imagination. And the people in my life are humans not aliens from a distant planet. I teach a writing class and decided the theme for May would be Beyond Limitations. I’d just read “We are beings whose growth and splendor are beyond limitation.” Right after that, I sat down to have a cup of Ginger Yogi tea. The fortune on the tea bag was “The only thing that can limit you is believing that you are limited. Be limitless.” As I further reflected on this new year cycle, I began reading a different book about the never-ending journey to mastery. On this quest, we discover our true selves and the golden dream of our life’s work. I finished reading the chapter and went to my office to get a bookmark. I picked one up but had a nudge that it wasn’t the right one. I picked up another and as I went to put it in the book, I noticed there was a quote on it. The message was “What do you want to do with your own wild and precious life,” by Mary Oliver. Putting all this together, I’ve come up with a goal for this year. I will be limitless as I continue my journey as a writer to get out my life’s work while living my wild and precious life in a place of growth and splendor. I invite you during this season of rebirth to reflect on your journey in your wild and precious life and to be limitless during this next year. I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your goals, dreams, and life’s work? I want to end this post with an uplifting quote by Mary Oliver, a wonderful American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize. “There were times over the years when life was not easy, but if you’re working a few hours a day and you’ve got a good book to read, and you can go outside to the beach and dig for clams, you’re okay.” |
