New Year’s Day Resolutions

• Say YES.
• Do what scares me.
• Don’t give NO any power.
• Work hard.
• Challenge myself.
• Get involved.
• Take joy.
• Remember all the birthdays.

This morning in 37 degree rainy weather I took the plunge into Barton Springs. It was a literal and figurative leap. Here’s what I discovered: even 68-degree water feels cold in the winter. But it’s good sometimes to do something that takes your breath away. Pebbled concrete on bare feet burns with cold. But that just makes dry feet and warm socks feel so meltingly good. Water slipping over skin feels like velvet, like silk, like — oh, just the best sensation of all. The cold on my face and on my feet when I kicked them into the air was a contrast in feeling.

Last year I took on a new day job which I love. It challenges me and excites me. The work I do matters, not just to me, but to the very small company I work for and our clients. I hadn’t understood until I left the previous job how essential meaningful work is to the soul.

This year I want to push harder on the dayjob, for that which pays the bills is as necessary to a writer as time to write in a quiet place.

This year, even though I am afraid to take the leap (see number two above) I must get involved in the political process, instead of just bitching about it from the outside.

So this morning I slipped into cold water. It was a bracing reminder of what I can do.

2015 Barton Springs New Year’s Day plunge.