We're sixteen days into 2023, and so far, so good, considering we started with Mercury in retrograde. Of course, a few things have been wonky, but overall, things have been positive and productive. What about you? The start of the new year has been very different from the past few years, and I hope the year will continue to blossom and grow as each month passes. I’ve set a few goals for the year and am looking forward to achieving them all. I’ve chosen the imagery of a bicycle as my mainstay––my beacon if you will. Why a bike? Because you must pedal to move forward, which is what I want for this year––forward motion with no backpedaling. The past is gone, and I’m quite tired of ruining the present by going back and revisiting all the moments I wish I could’ve changed. As rough as it all was, I now know it was necessary to be where I am today.

When I made my post about the rusted, empty bucket at the beginning of December, I struggled every day to find a fragment of joy to get into the holiday spirit, but I couldn’t.  The past few years had drained me to the point of exhaustion for anything “extra,” and the holidays felt extra for sure. However, despite my state of mind, I continued to push toward December 31st with a single-minded determination, and when the clock turned to 2023, EVERYTHING would change with a single thought…I would make the necessary changes to bring about mental joy and peace, freeing my mind to get back to the things I love to do––writing, creating, and learning.