My mom sends out an end-of-year assemblage of musings every December. These are her urgings, reminders & proclamations, for the New Year. She is a very wise woman. Take heed.

 
An aside: I have talked to my mom about her CAPS lock issue on numerous occasions. She refuses to amend her ways. She says — and I quote — “regular size just doesn’t seem good enough.”

Out of deference to her idiosyncrasies, I have preserved my mother’s annual missive in its original yelling-at-your-eyeballs form. Enjoy…

IF YOU’RE NOT SURE, WAIT.
ACT WITH CERTAINTY, IT ALWAYS COMES EVENTUALLY.

DANCE WITH FREEDOM AND OFTEN.

THERE’S NO YIN WITHOUT THE YANG, BUT OF COURSE YANG IS WAYYYYY MORE FUN.

LISTEN TO MUSIC, ALL KINDS DAILY.
(MY PICKS FOR WINTER ARE ROBERT SCHUMANN, RALPH VAUGHN WILLIAMS, ERIK SATIE, RISING APPALACHIA, HAFEZ NAZERI.)

WATCH EVERY SUNSET, NO EXCUSES.

BE WACKY, THERE’S NO HARM DONE.

WHEN IN DOUBT TALK TO LOVED ONES, FRIENDS, REACH OUT, LISTEN AND CONSIDER ALL OPTIONS…THEN DO WHAT YOU DAMN PLEASE.

IF YOU ARE STUCK, ADMIT IT AND SEEK HELP.
THERE ARE ALWAYS MANY PATHS TO ANY SOLUTION, NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK.

BE SURPRISED OR BE SURPRISING — OR BOTH!

TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY AND THEN EXTEND THIS TO OUR PLANET.

EAT LESS MEAT, DAIRY AND SUGAR. EAT SMALLER PORTIONS, BUT NEVER GIVE UP ON CHOCOLATE.

WHEN YOUR PARTNER, CHILDREN OR FRIENDS WANT TO TALK OR MEET DROP EVERYTHING AND BE THERE.

SIT WITH DEATH AS THE GREATEST REALITY — THE RAVEN AT THE CENTER — AND THEN YOU WILL KNOW LIFE MORE FULLY… OR GET REALLY DEPRESSED.

TIME IS PRECIOUS, no kidding! SO ONLY TELL FUNNY JOKES PLEASE!

PROFUNDITY IS AROUND YOU. YOU DO NOT HAVE FAR TO LOOK.

READ “AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM” BY ALEXANDER POPE — HE WAS ONE VERY SMART DUDE!

ALSO READ POETRY, SHAKESPEARE AND YOUR FAVORITE NOVELIST.

CULTIVATE SILENCE AND NATURE AND COOKIE-BAKING BUT SEE ABOVE: LESS DAIRY AND SUGAR. LIVE WITH CONTRADICTIONS IN CONTENTMENT.

LIFE IS UNCERTAIN BUT TAKE HEART LEST YOU DESPAIR, IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN. DO YOU THINK IT WAS EASY FOR THE CRO MAGNONS? TRUST ME, THEY WEREN’T JUST DRAWING IN THOSE CAVES ALL DAY!

SOMETIMES IT IS GOOD TO GO TO EXCESS — BE BAWDY, ROWDY, NAUGHTY. THAT IS ALL.

LISTEN HARD AND TRY NOT TO SPEAK. BUT KNOW THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE — ESPECIALLY FOR MOTHERS.

HAVING SAID ALL THIS, ALTHOUGH A YEAR OLDER, I AM NOT SURE I HAVE GAINED ANY WISDOM BUT LIKE ALL OF US KEEP TRYING MY FEEBLE BEST.

OH, ANOTHER THING — GO SOMEWHERE BEAUTIFUL IF YOU CAN, IN YOUR MIND OR FOR REAL.

HOPING THIS YEAR — THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON — IS FULL OF FIRE, CREATIVITY, HEALTH, PASSION AND FRIENDSHIPS OF LOVE AND FAMILY.
 

Image = my momma, playing the role of Musetta in Puccini’s “La Bohème,” circa 1992.