It’s a new year. Everyone is all about intentions these days. I intend to do a lot of things.
I intend to get up early and exercise. I intend to walk past that dish of Hershey Kisses and not grab two or four or … you know. I intend to get to bed earlier but man, Netflix makes it hard. At midnight my reflexes are too slow to hit Dismiss before the clock runs out and there I am in the middle of a recap. One after another.
Intentions. We all know the general definition, but here’s one often overlooked:
intention [ in-ten-shuhn ]. noun. Surgery, Medicine/Medical. a manner or process of healing, as in the healing of a lesion or fracture … or the healing of a wound.
Which brings me to Amanda Gardner, who is taking one of my classes right now and who inspires me to write as well. She always has a beautiful way of expressing herself in a short span of words, and when I read her most recent post on the prompt blueprint, I asked if I could share it with a wider audience.
I am looking forward to finding a therapist in 2022. I want my life back. I want to be in Albuquerque with my dogs. I want to have agency and make my own decisions. Who am I kidding? I want to feel agency for the first time in my life. I want to speak my mind and not be scared. I want to feel independent which, in truth, I have seldom felt. I am always looking elsewhere for guidance. I don’t want to socialize because I feel like I have to be what I think other people want. I don’t know when or how to say what I want and most of the time I don’t even know what I want or maybe I do know but I doubt it’s “right.” I want to live with Jane Goodall and the gorillas. I want to be on a plane alone, not taking care of anyone. I want to have my own blueprint. I am putting a lot of stock in this as-yet-unnamed therapist. I hope I am not disappointed.
AMANDA GARDNER facilitates writing workshops for people experiencing homelessness or incarceration and has had many flash pieces published. She is working on a memoir in flash about her husband’s illness and recovery.
Share it, then take a lesson from her approach and see where my pen might take me.
I look forward to slowing down and listening more. To the sound of our house at night –expanding and contracting in the heat and the cold, like taking deep breaths after a long day. I look forward to being outside in good weather and bad, just to know that I am alive. I want to spend more time looking up, because I know I am missing so much when I always look down at my own two feet trying to navigate the path alone. I want to be in conversation with more writers like Mandy, who reveal their truths so that I might have the courage to take a look at my own. I am putting a lot of stock in the possibilities around me. I hope that I am brave enough to stay in each moment long enough to witness the miracle.
Writing begets writing.
What about you? — I look forward to … I hope.
Fill in the blank.
