Reverb10, Day 31: The core of the story

 Prompt: Core story. What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world? (Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month. Look through them to discover a thread you may not have noticed until today).

Author: Molly O'Neill
Harper Collins Children's
@molly_oneill

I have a tradition that I started a few years ago on new year's eve. I spend at least the last hour of my current year reading my journals from the months leading up to new year of the previous (i.e. 2009) year, and then writing a journal entry for the start of the new year.

Tonight my journal writing is accompanied by a crackling, blazing fire. I am on my last two logs, and there are 20 minutes until the clock strikes 12.

Looking back over the last year, the story that seems to be at the core of me is one of relationships, service and presence. My relationship with God and my faith. My relationships with family and friends. My relationship with the land I am inhabiting, with the colours, textures, flavours, aromas, sounds and light that surround me. I feel a deep gratitude for all of my relationships, whether they be with myself, others, or the natural world around me. I feel deeply blessed.

The other story that seems to keep rising up out of me is service. My own service to my community. The service that family and friends are rendering to the world around them. Acts of service that are making this world more beautiful, peaceful, diverse, joyful. More like home.

And presence...I am still exploring presence. So much of my life has been about the parts that are absent. I am in the US, but part of me is in Cyprus. I am in Cyprus, but part of me is in Canada. I am in Italy, but part of me is in the US. I am in Canada, but part of me is dreaming of Cyprus. And now I am in California, but of course, I somehow managed to leave a large piece of my heart back in Canada! You would think that since I so deeply want to find a home where I am fully present, I would have figured out how to do it by now. Even I am shaking my head here, because the truth is that I haven't figured it out yet. This blog does provide me with an opportunity to practice presence every day though, and I think I am actually making progress!

I am grateful for this wild year of adventure of exploration. I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue learning and growing towards presence in the new year. To more service, to new relationships, and to continuing to deepen the relationships that I am already blessed to share.

Here's to the the story that radiates from the core of each of us! May it radiate outwards into the world even brighter in 2011! May we continue to believe in our dreams! And may we be empowered to pursue them with everything we have got, and make them come true. Anything is possible!

The fireworks are going off, so I will close here. Happy new year to you all!