A Year of Living
December 30, 2012 § 36 Comments
This year.
A year of putting aside the pointless pursuit of the targets of my ambition. Giving up the enticing numbness of repression and drift. Not stepping away when it feels too real.
Shutting down my busy mind. Switching off that self-lacerating judgment.
Holding a vision of that pure way of being- strong, centered, and present. A way beyond ambition or judgment- the place of gratitude, forgiveness, and acceptance.
Being with those I love. Seeking what’s real and intimate, not contrived and hedged.
And all these new and wondrous connections- the writers, poets, and artists, the depressed and joyful ones. These kind and generous beings, each one so precious to me.
Recalling also those moments of sublime experience- moments in the woods, at the sea, or simply sitting at this seat in my kitchen. Moments of communion with all that is and all that I am. Just the memory of them catches my breath.
But this year has also brought great pain and struggle. More than ever before. At times nearly unbearable.
Still, not going back to that other way. Having lived the truth, can’t ever go back to the lie.
Seeking now to embrace the pain- and the joy- that comes with awareness. Wide open, ready for what is to come.
I feel a stirring, a shift. I feel the New Year coming.
only here only now 
Great way to enter the new year … With a new and positive mindset!
You are such an incredibly beautiful human and I’m grateful to know you. Your year seems to have been filled with all there is and maybe a little more. BUT…. you’re here, you matter, you’re alive and well, and you’re rich beyond meaning. Thank you for sharing this part of your life with your readers. You have made my day. Hugs, Brenda
Brenda,
I read this lovely reply several days ago and hesitated to respond. Not sure I could express what your consistent care and support and engagement has meant to me these months. Not sure I could live up to that “beautiful human” standard, I suppose. But then I stopped all that and just felt your message. All judgment, all fear, all the things that keep me away and hold me back, all fell away in the wake of your spirit and your message to me.
So I do receive your kindness and I send it back to you.
Thank you, Brenda.
Tom
tom, you might like this blog, perhaps you already know it .. there is poem today that made me think of you .. http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/2013/01/01/the-long-road-turns-to-joy/
Christine,
Just went to Beth’s pages. Beautiful. Am now happily following her work.
Thank you for thinking of me.
Tom
😀
I totally copy that! Beauty is in the ordinary, enjoy each moment Thomas, may all good things come to you this new year!
Linda,
I believe that all good things will come if we are only ready to receive them. Beauty abounds.
I admire so much your photographic artistry, your eye for the image.
Best wishes for this wondrous New Year ahead.
Tom
our journey continues, together, finding ourselves as one in the moment, remembering that, your voice is a precious reminder Tom, the poetry of few words, of heart-felt simplicity, of saying how it is, thank you so much for your blog Tom, and the loving kindness you spread to all of us, rich blessings for 2013, Christine xx
Christine,
This journey together has been a beautiful thing. Hoping we’ll walk our parallel paths with the same joy and caring for a long time ahead. But whatever comes, this moment is a good one, that I know.
Thank you for your support and love. Know that they are returned to you.
Tom
This is such a beautiful way to put the past year in perspective and set the stage for the coming New Year. I feel the same. I look forward to what comes next, fully aware there will be surprises, good, bad and ugly, but I’m as ready as I can be. Happy New Year my friend.
Happy New Year, Susan.
“Ready as I can be.” That’s it. All we can do. Be open and ready. Be strong and kind.
You model that aspiration ceaselessly.
Looking forward to continuing this beautiful connection into the New Year.
Tom
Discovering you this past year has been a comfort and joy, as well as reassurance that we all feel the pain, we are not alone on this path. We are all basically one. Happy New Year, Tom!
Sharon,
We are not alone- we are joined together in this community, supporting each other in a caring and loving way. I am blessed. You are a great gift to me.
Wishing you a wondrous New Year.
Tom
A really beautiful, thoughtful and honest piece of writing Tom. I feel your words inside me. In my isolated moments it’s reassuring to know that there are others out there on a like-minded path. For me 2013 has to be an even stronger focus on non-attachment, and staying in the now.
Happy New Year, and may your wishes come true.
Jude,
The capacity to write here in an honest and vulnerable way has come in large part from reading the work of others, writers like you who model an open and honest way. It’s also come from feeling the caring and support of others in the kind and gracious messages you leave here.
I am still stunned by the loving spirit of this community. One of the greatest gifts of this year past.
Best wishes for this New Year ahead. And thank you.
Tom
Dear Thomas, just nominated you for the Blog of the Year Award – congratulations:!! See http://simplecherishes.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/thank-you-for-the-blog-of-the-year-award-2012/
Warm wishes for the New Year!!
Thank you so much for this award. (I left a message for you on your blog, expressing my gratitude for your support for my writing.)
You are a generous soul. You teach us to cherish the simple things, to see the beauty around us. A great gift you give us.
Blessings.
And best wishes for the New Year.
Tom
Thank you for your kind comments. Your blog inspires us to look deeper into our souls, and be honest with ourselves. Looking forward to your writing in 2013! Have a blessed New year!
So honored to be shifting with you Tom…Happy New Year!!!
Jenn,
I feel a strong sense of affinity, a sense of two shared and parallel journeys.
We each have gone through much growth- and much difficulty- this year. I’ve lost track of the number of times that reading one of your posts, or coming upon one of your kind and supportive messages here, has lifted me up. You are a gift- to me and to so many others.
Let’s share a wondrous 2013.
Tom
Beautiful, Tom. I wish you a million moments of joy in the coming year.
Sandy,
Our connection has brought me many moments of joy this past year.
Gratitude, love, peace, strength- your spirit makes me feel all those things.
Blessings to you in the coming New Year.
Tom
Tom, I have read and re read many of your blog posts this year and would like to thank you for being true and authentic and honest about life with its many twists and turns, highs and lows and the places in between. You have taught me many life lessons, so a heartfelt thanks for this new post. I wish for you in 2013 that a balance is found in your life and that light shines on the shadow.
Namaste
Anne
Anne,
This year has been so much more than I ever imagined it would be- more wondrous, more growth, and more pain and struggle too.
You have given me the great gift of the caring, loving spirit that I feel every time I encounter these thoughtful messages you leave for me.
I am blessed.
Sending you love and light as we move into our New Year.
Tom
Yes the New Year is coming and one can’t retrace or retreat to the way it used to be. Going forward through pain and darkness is “going forward” and not sitting still as a victim of fate. Like you, I dare to take another step towards peace and light. Blessing, Thomas.
We are going forward, closer and closer to that way of being we seek. I feel it.
Sending strong, good thoughts your way as you take your steps toward that peace and light.
Tom
I am so happy for you! Your awaking has begun, I believe the new year will promise much growth and meaningful success in your life. “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning”. Will be praying for you in 2013. Can’t wait to hear more from you and excerpts from your book.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Francine,
I always feel encouraged and blessed whenever I encounter your writing or find that you have stopped by and left me your always kind message of caring and support.
Wishing you all blessings in the coming year.
Tom
So much related to this Tom ~ just finished writing my own post that is so much in tune with yours… Have not published yet, but just know I will be holding you in my heart as we welcome the coming year
… Peace, Love and Blessings to you my wise and loving friend ~
RL
Don’t know about the wise part, but surely loving.
Connecting with you and your amazing artistry has been a great blessing of this past year.
Sending wishes for a wondrous New Year.
Peace and love, Robyn.
Tom
This one vibrates so beautifully, so clearly. Correct, there is no turning back. Ever, but especially not once you’ve passed through this particular set of doors. Casting Light and blessings upon all that was and all that is. Julianna
Julianna,
Truly a wondrous year. I do feel a sense of shift. We’ll see. I’ll just have to be open and ready.
Blessings to you and the family at the advent of this New Year.
Tom
May your new year be some of what you intend—impermanence being what it is. Happy New Year!
Too true. We can’t know what the next moment, let alone the next year,will bring. I say these things as a way of professing out loud my credo, I suppose. Like a prayer perhaps.
Happy New Year and thank you.
Tom
“…a way of professing out loud…”—this gives our intentions voice, maybe even a little power.