Attitude is everything

Ready or not, 2012 is here!  A week ago everyone in the country was in the same place in one time zone or another: bidding farewell to the old year and ringing in the new.  When I was younger, my best friend would spend the night every NYE.  We’d play a rousing round or two of Barbie Game while tossing back a couple of grape sodas, eating homemade popcorn (the kind my mom would shake over the stove) and watching Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve.  As an adult, one NYE my family celebrated with noisemakers and neighbors, and a few memorable ones were spent playing cards with my daughter, dying her hair and raising her to love Dick Clark almost as much as me.  This past weekend could have been (and was almost) labeled as one of the most boring NYE ever: sitting in front of the TV, channel surfing with my husband and hoping the night was not a precursor for the year to come.  However, as I was returning to the living room from pouring myself another glass of water, a better idea popped into my head: a low-key evening was the perfect way to rest up and prepare myself to jump feet first into 2012 and all it has to offer.  Just six days later, I already see the wisdom in that mindset.

 I have high hopes for the new year.  How about you?

Art that reveals

“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” — Gustave Flaubert

I love how the author illustrates art as discovering what we believe – ever-changing, fluid in its design, shaping our minds, hopes and dreams into living potential choreographed on the pristine canvas of each day – much like the writer paints word pictures scrawled in bold ink across the minds of our readers.  Neither masterpiece exists on its own, but together they form a magical combination of revelation and understanding.  Kind of like each one of us.

Do you practice an art that defines you?