Marching forth

It's finally here—my heart's New Year. March Forth! I love this day. And boy, what a bright, warm, beautiful one it is. Thanks to the person who ordered it.

Hold on, I'm the person who ordered it. Thanks, Geo! (Thanks, Nature. Thanks, God.)

So, what are you doing to celebrate and march forth today?

There are a few dear ones in my life who have fallen dangerously ill, strangely all in a batch. For that reason, and for reasons of my own, with more concentration than ever I'm dedicating this March Forth to preservation, to joy, and to healing. I had originally planned to spend the day on the phone, but that no longer feels like the right agenda. I want to pack March Forth full of little quiet things, nurturing and encouraging things. I've not been too steady lately, so today I want to work on getting my footing because it's no good going off on a big march when you're off-balance.

It's been a good day to this point. I got up earlier than usual after a non-insomniac trip to Slumberland. I prayed, made the bed, then sat with my laptop on my two fat layers of ducky down comforters and read good news from one of those dear ones I mentioned above. His cancer is treatable, and there's hope, and chemo begins for him on Tuesday. Relative relief—if that's not a fine way to start March Forth, I don't know what is. I wish for similar good news from other dear ones . . . . My friend sent me a beautiful poem along with his news, and I knew right away that one of the things I'd do today was work on memorizing a poem or two, starting with the sweet one that just arrived:

The Silken Tent
by Robert Frost

She is as in a field a silken tent
At midday when the sunny summer breeze
Has dried the dew and all its ropes relent,
So that in guys it gently sways at ease,
And its supporting central cedar pole,
That is its pinnacle to heavenward
And signifies the sureness of the soul,
Seems to owe naught to any single cord,
But strictly held by none, is loosely bound
By countless silken ties of love and thought
To every thing on earth the compass round,
And only by one's going slightly taut
In the capriciousness of summer air
Is of the slightlest bondage made aware.

Haven't you heard that memorizing and reciting poetry preserves the health of your mind? It also helps you learn and activate/integrate parts of your brain, just like singing or playing a musical instrument. Well, it sounds like a perfect project to begin today: turning myself into a walking collection of poems.

The other long-term task I want to begin today is Project 365. I started taking daily photos a couple years ago, but didn't keep up with it. Maybe this time I'll make it a full year, at least. Care to join me? Sounds interesting, don't you think?

What other activities will be part of the celebration today? So many options. The list of possibilities so far includes, but is surely not limited to:

• going for a walk in the sun
• taking a therapeutic deep tub study-soak, with music and candles
• making a dress (oh, you should see the fabric I got)
• finishing the novel I'm reading
• doing another Kundalini Yoga session (already did a short one this morning, and it felt great)
• attempting some creative writing
• thumbing through library cookbooks and planning a week's worth of menus from interesting new recipes
• painting a wall
• shopping for a yogurt maker
• buying some clay and sculpting a little guy, for fun

One thing which is firmly on the agenda is to go and try out a "new" Mexican restaurant in town, a place that recently changed hands. The new management somehow got my email address and sent me this humble invitation:

Hello:

My name is Alejandro and I want to invite you to LA TORMENTA RESTAURANT, in down town Provo. Now I am administrating the store and we are reopening on Wednesday 4th. of this month. We are working hard to make the restaurant a better place, with good quality of food and low prices.

Sincerely,

Alejandro Puye

How am I supposed to say no to that? You think for a minute I could resist eating at a place called Torment on March Forth? Why, it'll be like thumbing my nose at whatever nasty forces would bring me down. "See? I laugh in the face of danger! Ha ha! I eat torment for lunch! Get out of my way, La Gringa is marching forth!" And anyway, it's opening on my holiday; it's sure to be successful, and I'm sure to survive the ordeal. Rob and I thought we'd try it out a while back when it was still Taqueria La Tormenta, but when we got to the front door the closed sign was up, and a peek through the window scared us off. Now that it's "a better place" maybe it will be safe for us to go inside and order. My expectations are low, so it's likely not to disappoint. I'll have a roll of Tums handy, just in case.

Stay tuned for a March Forth update later on, and my first photo for Project 365.

Now get out there and do some marching forth yourself. Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup!