The Juxtaposition of a New Year

This morning I went for a run. Understand, that’s a big deal for me — I broke several bones in my foot this past year and it’s been a lengthy road to recovery. But as I was running, thinking about the start of a new year while listening to Muse’s album, Absolution, which is all about the end of the world, I realized how much joy there is in contrasts.

Hope and despair.

A new year and the end of the world.

Time spent with family vs time spent alone.

Corporate life set against creative pursuits and freedoms.

Even my run was balanced between tract housing on one side and wilderness on the other, a perfect metaphor for where my thoughts were leading.

2018 was a strange year, one where I’m not sure I had those scales equally balanced. And when you’re juggling multiple scales and a variety of weights in all different shapes and sizes, it’s easy to let all those chains get tangled until you’re the one being held bound rather than setting the scales.

So this year my goals are simple. Balance. To walk (or maybe even run) that road that straddles the line between reality and the hopes of what could be. And to put the work in to keep moving forward, despite the setbacks that come — whether they be broken toes, shattered dreams, or just an unexpected incline.

I’m not sure what that journey will look like over the course of the year or what the implications will be when it comes to things like social media, blogposts, or other pursuits, but I invite you to do the same. Seek that road that runs between the contrasts in your life. Find out where it leads. Even if you never see the end of that road, you’re bound to have encounters along the way that you would never have had without pursuing that balance.

So Happy New Year. I’m oddly excited for where it might lead and hope to cross paths with you along our journeys.

#HappyNewYear #NewYearsResolutions #writersjourney #WritingCommunity