The truth is I do not know what 2011 will bring.
I look forward to the serendipity of it.
The discovery. The surprise.
It's not that I have no plans.
Quite the opposite: I have too many.
And the truth is, the universe will reveal new unanticipated directions in which I'll also travel.
Those will likely be the best journeys of all.
Here are the plans I've made for the future I want.
They will not all happen this year.
Some I'll sacrifice for others.
Some require the universe to happily conspire.
Some the universe will conspire against because it knows better than I.
So be it.
I'll still write them down with all the hope in my heart.
Marry a man who believes i'm the greatest gift he's ever been given. Like Avi believes about Rella.
Deepen friendships with people (like Jeffrey, Mama Lucy, Jen, Ehon, Amy, Maggie, Cate, Gil, Lee, Amanda, and you) who challenge and inspire me to be better than I am today.
Renew relationships with old friends (like Kim, Pat, Angie, Tara and Janet) who know exactly who i've always been.
Inspire people to pour the very best they have to offer - every ounce of love, joy, hope, gratitude and courage - into making our world even more beautiful.
Create a tiny new life who teaches me to exude a special kind of love like Yael, Geoff and soon, Tamu.
Explore what's possible next with the merry band of superheros who have conspired to create Epic Change.
Take a road trip across the US with a few of the children in Tanzania so we can thank so many who've given so much.
Feel truly beautiful for at least one moment.
Care for my body so that it can fully support all my soul has in store for it. (with a little help from Marianne & Amanda.)
Dance again with total abandon.
Stop judging myself so harshly so I can stop fearing that others are judging me too.
Make sure my family knows they are loved by being fully present in the moments we share.
Relaunch Epic Change as a hub where we conspire globally to invest our whole hearts in hope. (with a little help from Lulu & Shivaas.)
Further explore my tempestuous relationships with bigness and money.
Spend more time outdoors in environments not yet sullied with concrete.
Practice trust & let go a little so that others may lead, but hold fast enough that my creation never becomes my nemesis. (Did you know that until her death Anna Jarvis, who created Mother's Day, spent her family inheritance campaigning against the holiday she'd established?)
Reclaim Anna's original idea by making even more moms know they're loved this Mother's Day.
Find a cloak of invisibility.
Unleash even more grateful hearts on the world in November.
Watch Mama Lucy's seventh graders - Gladys, Glory, Leah, Phineas, Gideon & so many more - score at the top of their nation on Tanzania's annual exams this year.
See a school open in Nepal built, in part, by the gratitude of so many.
End the correlation between greed and power. (ok, maybe that'll take longer than a year.)
Write a book. And make a film. (Yeah, i know, this one too.)
Learn to speak Swahili. For real.
Spend time with friends in Tanzania, Nepal & Europe.
See a secondary school built in Arusha that will transform children I love into adults ready to define the future of a nation.
Magically (ok, i'll settle for intentionally) have the resources needed to do all of the above and more should the universe add to the list.
Love the world and those in it with all my heart.
I was inspired to write this post by my friend Lee, a truly beautiful soul who, with her soulmate & husband Gil, is embarking this January on a writing experiment called "30 Days of Truth."
one more note: I noticed myself writing the words conspire & inspire all over the place in the list above. And then I remembered, from my nerdy Latin classes, that the root of both words is "spiro" - to breathe. Conspire: to breathe with. Inspire: to breathe in. So add that to my list. Just breathe.
Photo by Tjeerd Wiersma. Licensed by Creative Commons on Flickr.
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