The closing of a year gone by is often a time of introspection for me. I like to reconsider the intentions I set last December and celebrate the gains while considering where I want to put my intention for the coming year. Last year, I set 4 intentions. I planned to write a book on the Modes of Mastery, and although that effort took months longer than I expected, it will be available within the next couple of weeks. I decided to grow a successful garden, and I'm still harvesting carrots and potatoes. I expect what I learned to inform the choices we make this year. I wanted to improve my physical strength, and I succeeded in establishing a morning yoga practice and losing weight. I also wanted to learn more about particle physics, and I'm afraid that one died on the vine very early on.
I begin this new year with deep sadness for how COVID-19 has ravaged this country, and with hope that we'll be able to learn from the challenges and do better in the future. Just this morning I read a quote from a writer named L.P. Hartley, (30 Dec 1895-1972): "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." As in all things, that which I do differently in the future will produce a different result.
