Where I need to go -- heading towards the light

End of day light
Toronto in the distance from
Colonel Samuel Smith Park
Photo
Barbara Muir © 2020

Despite all of the recent scary changes in the world, my post from last
year on this date still rings true.

"A few years ago Howard Wolinsky, the amazing writer and 
photographer, whose piece about me on his Skype blog got
me noticed by Oprah Winfrey's people in 2009, asked about
the things I had learned that year.  It's a nice tradition to notice
what mattered as the year ends.  This has been both a wonderful,
and hard year.  Wonderful in terms of a super life, kind friends,

happy travels -- hard in terms of wars, climate change, loss
of work, and serious illnesses in the family. This first gratitude
from last year still holds true.

#1 of 23 (or 1 in 24)
I wrote this a few years ago, and it still works as one of
the first things I learned again in 2023. (And it is also
one of the first things I learned in 2024). I am not religious,
so what I like about the festive season, is the joy around
the light returning, which is all about rebirth -- a new year,
new ideas, new possibilities.  

Steven and I are sunset chasers.  By which I mean, we love
to see the sunset, and because we are also more late night
people, we rejoice as the days get longer.  So this is what
I learn every year -- try and be the light.  

In recent years the news has frequently been harsh:
fires in California, fires across Canada, hurricanes on the
east coast, climate change so out of control, 32 countries
experiencing wars, mass shootings in America. A normal 

reaction is to feel despair.

But as I said a few years ago that despair is not generative
-- it doesn't lead to change. And change has to happen now
for the sake of the planet.

I do believe that celebrating the world is one of the most
vital reasons for making art -- to inspire people, and help them
to love the planet, and value all of our lives on it."

Have a loving your life day.