“In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.”

― Ansel Adams

In between the time of Christmas Day and the rousing 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 of New Years I invite you to understand what has gotten us to this point, where we are, and where we hope ourselves to be. No easy thing let me assure you but one worth the doing of if for no other reason than a map created will often point to a place uncharted.

I myself am guilty of being very comfortable in my view of the world and the right and wrong of things. This is not to say that there are not rights and wrongs, of course there are, but rather let me suggest a little shaking of your opinions and ideas and see what falls out of the tree. Perhaps a dead branch or two or even better some marvelous fruit that you have never tasted.

One exercise, somewhat masochistic and dangerous in potential self-indulgence, is to write down the 100 things I absolutely believe in. This exercise, shared with me by my dear friend Ken Brown, is an annual sojourn into my assumptions and more often than not reinforces some deeply held truth I have come to learn. One new belief I will consider between the bolded dates of the 25th and the 1st is the idea of infinity as an actual thing rather than a mental construct. This will be a tough one as the implications of it, if it gets added to my list, could be quite staggering. I’ll let you imagine why.

A smaller exercise I try to complete every new years day, potential hangover willing, is to write a list of where I want to be at the end of the new year. This isn’t a list of things I want to own or money I want to make but rather a list of things I hope I get better at. Things like loving my family and friends or maybe understanding something a little more clearly. Sometimes I succeed in doing this sometimes I don’t, but in creating the list it gives me something of a touchstone. Stones can be very comforting.

The point is friends that if there a chance to make things a little better by creating these maps why not do it. Better still create your own version noting your history, reflecting on it, and then charting a way forward. Just as we are about to enter the warm embrace of the holidays and feel the reflected glow of the love and warmth of family and friends consider then act on those considerations. To all I wish you the very best of holidays and the greatest success for the New Year.