The Breath of the New Year

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The new year invites us to ask,
Where are we going?
Where are coming from?

And this year,
As I stood on that bridge in between the new year and the old
I cast a glance over my shoulder
And looked back.

Tears streamed down my face

So much has happened
So much has changed

It was a year of falling down and getting up again
Looking at mountains that seemed too big to ever climb
And trying

It was a year of running into other people
Of getting mad
Or getting hurt

And then trying to make things better
Trying to make things work

Trying to figure things out.

And as I look back I see sometimes they did work
And that I did make it part way up that insurmountable climb

Even though I fell trying
More than once

To celebrate the New Year I danced
And for me this dance became a statement

I am here
I want to be here

Even though I fall down
I want to be here

And as I look back
I gather the precious treasures from the year
And the gems I find are subtle shifts in my body and voice

Clarity in sound
More integrity in my spine

They say,
I am here
I want to be here.

subtle shifts.
hard to see.

They change everything.