planting and gathering
Well, it's new year's eve in Vancouver, and I'm just getting ready to head out and party with the family. We've had a nice vacation together--civil, with enough debate to be interesting. Some friends back in town right now from Montreal whom I'm really looking forward to seeing. I'd really hoped to try and introduce some of the people in my community to my family, but that doesn't look like it'll happen this holiday. Lots more time though. It's funny how when you're away from family and friends you think about how much they mean to you. They help you fit yourself into a larger worldview. As Mike put it a few weeks ago: "I like being around people that allow me to be the kind of person I want to be." With family you're challenged to break the roles set in childhood and mature together, to become the person you want to be, and with friends you choose the group that evokes your best traits, the values you most value. Two words for last year: grounding, focusing. Two words for next year: planting, gathering.