Introspection is my word for 2020. I’m at a crossroads in my life, and I need to look inward to find out what comes next. There was a time when age 70 sounded old to me. Now that I’m there, I’ve pushed old up to at least 80! My body often tells me I’m older than my mind feels, but I’m still looking for adventure. I can’t just sit around waiting for my time to trickle down to nothing. Hence the word Introspection. I think I must find and/or create the next phase of my life through looking within. Here is a poem from my book Just Show Up that expresses my desire to still find meaning in my life moving into the last phase of it.

Sleep Walking

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning
for life. . . . I think that what we’re seeking is an
experience of being alive. . . .”
Joseph Campbell

Do you know what I miss in my life?
Having no idea of what comes next–
the vision of “what if”
driving me forward
toward a gaping chasm,
unhooking my tether from fear,
kicking up the dust in my soul,
pushing me into the flames.

Do you know what else I miss in my life?
The unreserved offering of myself
to a calling that consumes me,
infusing substance into intention,
bearing me higher until I touch
the feathers of angels.

Do you know what I’m missing most in my life?
Sprinting to the peak,
dancing there in the rain
until a bolt of lightning
strikes me down,
then bursting upward
as fire in the night sky.

Write about what your life is missing and how you can create that missing piece moving forward.

Look inside yourself and find something that excites you, then write how you can incorporate it into your life.

Choose a word for your year and write about how you will use it in 2020.

Happy New Year!