[ m a k e . a . MOVE ]

New year's eve is a weird concept.

It's supposed to feel like the conclusion of one year and the start of a new one. But, what I'm having immediate thoughts about is the fact that the new year is starting on a Friday this year. Friday, to me at least, is the end of the work-week and the start of the weekend.

Oh.

Look at that.

The end of the business [ temporarily ] and the beginning [ figuratively ] of the fun.

I think I can do something with that.

I've been resolving this entire year to getting back on track: to getting my ducks in line and making sure my blinders are on so I take care of what I'm supposed to.

We have academic calendars and annual calendars and neither of those really line up. Then there are seasonal "calendars," I guess you could call them, and even those are starting to move. Let's be honest, Winter in the Northeast has been coming later and later.

But what doesn't change to the general consensus - despite the specifics of time in a calendar year - are the days of the week, the months in the year - that sort of business.

I guess it's just more of an observation as I'm getting older.

I've noticed that my generation's becoming the one that's claiming that everything in our youth was better. Television shows, video games, childhood activities - the kind of stuff that older generations brag about. Growing pains and hypertension, maybe not so much.

But what I recently discovered out of working through the rest of 2015 is that I don't really rely on writing in this blog anymore. I have a more open-line of communication with my friends. I have my boyfriend who I think sometimes appreciates me even more than I could have ever dreamed of. I have art that allows me to explore the clutter in my head. I have the curiosity of previous generations compacted in my mind. I have a specific vision in my sight. I have a better understanding of how to approach objectives. I have a new set of tools to be a human being.

I have a lot of things that I already possessed and just was not aware of them.

I'm not putting it out of commission, but I'd like to keep its true purpose: to highlight key moments in my life to share and also archive for my personal appreciation. This was always such a kind space to my soul, to my mind that helped me figure out things when I did not understand where else to turn to. And now that I have other places to turn to, I think its actual purpose of positive energy and good will bring my life full-circle.

So, I've been working on a lot of creative projects. Working on one currently as I'm writing this and you're reading it. I'm compiling a playlist based on songs by Mumford & Sons, Jason Mraz, Gavin Degraw and Jason Mayer [ as well as a few other artists ] to set the tone for a musical I'd like to write with a few of my friends.

L U L L A B Y . 

I think I just like to create art. Part of me gets lazy, really lazy, after I've established an idea. Or I get distracted again and funnel my energy into other projects. What's very funny to me is that people have always told me to focus on one thing at a time.

They're right. It's probably way more beneficial and fruitful to invest in one project at a time. I'm just too much of a puppy when it comes to art. I just want to run everywhere and do everything with anyone who is willing to collaborate.

I think I've set my goals pretty specifically for this new year, though.

Not a new year and new Darin - not just yet [ since your body changes about every 20 years. ]

Think of it as a new mindset, a new approach. A new goal.

2016: The year of commitment.

My friend and creative partner in crime Ashley W.K. has declared her year of 2015 as "The year of lessons" with a color themed black. 2016, however, has a wonderful tone of "orange" and the year of "blessings on blessings on blessing."

I admire everything in her soul and am very grateful our paths have crossed. My artistic world has solidified because of her passion and commitment.

In my relationship, 2015 has been pretty arduous and it has been an incredible teacher. I've learned so much from my mister and I've learned how to appreciate him better. I'm still finding out things every day and I think it's very important that everyone understands that a relationship is more than what you decide to put on social media or what you decide to portray to your friends or whatever else you believe it to be.

It's about two people, two human beings, and their collective - as well as individual - happiness[es] being catered to.

I am humbled by him and would like to commend him on being able to put up with me. Thanks, Mem. =]

My family has been tangential. I have not given as much care or time or effort or love as they should be getting. I've recently rediscovered the power of forgiveness and the cleansing spirit that comes with it. I have convinced my mind that my heart is right and analyzing every little thing that happens. I've reminded myself a thousand times that family prepares you for the real world. I don't even remember where I got this adage from, but I'm going to link up the tracks again and get this well-oiled machine back in gear.

I owe my cast of Ubu Roi a thank you post. I'll get to it today, promises.

I want to thank every individual who's come in my life and made an impact. People whose names I don't remember, whose favorite colors I can spitfire, whose birthdays make them more/less compatible personalities with my own, whose tastes in music complement my slower afternoons and whose studies will supplement my dive into the big blue oceans of Planet Earth.

2016, I'm going to start projects from scratch and finish them. I'm going to hold fast to my word. I'm going to do this annual attempt of bettering myself and see myself through. I'm going to say a lot of things to a lot of people and mean every word. I'm going to be completely honest and bring as much good as you could possibly imagine one person could. And so many more things.

I look forward to this new year. It'll probably take a few days for writing the new date to kick in and for me to start saying "2016" instead of "2015," just because it's not my main focus.

My blinders are being let up for a little bit.

The world's gaining so much color and I'm going to use it to paint my eyes enlightened.

That's my favorite shade of life.

Thanks for reading. Happy New Year to all of you. Hope to see you all and spend quality time with every dear individual who holds a place in my heart.

"Self-Promotion, Progress and Positivity"

 Before you begin, wash your hands thoroughly with pure, unsaturated gratefulness, unblended admiration and compassion-concentrate. After drying them with the acceptance of the world around you, you may prepare the appliances:

1. You'll need one large heart. It's okay if it's beaten, tattered, broken, mended, full or empty - it just needs to be your own. You'll need to inspect it for any vices, biases or anything that could taint its composition any further. If it's a bad habit, you'll need to wash it with the same components you washed your hands with prior to preparation; a bit of a tenderness with the cleanse will do it good, but try to be patient - it will thaw and rid of its blemishes with undetermined and unprecedented time.
2.  If you open your eyes and inspect the heart thoroughly, you'll find with it a set of connections that plug into different parts of your body. This is tuned and intended to keep your body running well at a standard temperature of ninety-eight and six-tenths [ 98.6 ] Farenheit - thirty-seven [ 37 ] degrees Celsius for you intelligent creatures. It is homeostasis, your body's natural standard for functional operation. With it, you'll find your immune system and your different, internal regulators - blood pressure / cholesterol; blood cell count [ white and red ]; enzymes; acids; etc. Do well to observe and tend to their needs, requirements and, essentially, take care of your body.
3. Next comes the great part we all love. If you take a container to place the heart in - preferably figurative and mentally fabricated, housing the actual heart right where it belongs [ in your chest cavity, in case you are following the instructions verbatim ] you can sit there and evaluate both your heart and your body with your mind. Take all the time you need: this is a recipe made for either one lifetime or many - however many you need to figure it out. With this evaluation, you should be able to find what you cherish: what you hold dear, what you appreciate, what makes you happy, what strikes you emotionally and what makes you want to go to sleep to wake up the next morning and breathe air for. Once you have made a list composed of more than [ but no little as ] fifteen things [ accumulative or separately for each category is not distinguished ], you are free to find things in your life that fit snugly in whichever places they belong. Feel free to bend the rules if it's something that doesn't seem to fit at all. However, if it is negative in any aspect, you must set it aside in a pile alienated from the container which houses your washed, thriving heart and your stable body. Let's call this rubbish. Not like we're going to refer to it another time. But, for your future purposes, and if you need to try your hand again at this recipe, "rubbish" is a starting point.
4. After you've your plethora of pleasures, do well to find them in life. Once you have found them in your life, exact how you're going to share them with those around you. In what proportion? Are you going to share all of your happiness to convey to others who may or may not appreciate the things you do as much as you do? Are you going to share as little as possible to keep the bliss to yourself? It is suggested to give the heart the judgment, leaving whatever you share to the same compassion broth which should be pumping from the heart to the body.
5. With the sharing testing the caliber of your happiness and your surroundings, take another look. Do these things still make you happy? Do they make the people around you happy? Do you appreciate the things or people with whom you've experienced these results with? Take three-fourths [ 3/4 ] of the negative responses and set them aside for the rubbish. Do not set them in the rubbish, merely make room for the quintessence of your happiness - for the things and people that mean the most.
6. Add a [ 1 ] cup of sugar: do not get down in the dumps. Sugar - artificial or natural - does well for your cells. { Accredited source. } It is simply the energy source that provides your cells the capability to do what they need to. Whether this sugar is literal - eating healthier with more fruits, vegetables, proportioned meals and properly prepared diet-work - or figurative - holding a perspective that absolves detrimental attitudes and extracts happiness out of every situation, good or bad - it will do well if added in the right proportion. If poured properly, this will make the contents glaze with a lifetime of pleasant experiences and bonds that will be greatly appreciated at a later time.
7. Stir steadily with an instrument of action. Do, don't think upon everything. Get out of your comfort zone for a few days or weeks or months and try something new that will not only make you feel alive and well, but will also bring you good karma and prosperity.
8. Resolve what it is these elements of your mind, the cup of sugar and your listings and sorting, will do for you. Do not forget who is going to slave over this great concoction, who is going to provide this recipe success - and that is you. What do you aspire to be in ten years? Where do you want to be in life within the next fifteen to twenty? How about in one year? Let your options set for about a week or two, and see if any bubbles form. If they do, weigh them down with a thick powder of practicality and reason. If the mixture tastes bitter, add a half cup [ 1/2 ] of sugar with the intent to stop in case the mixture gets too light and sweet. You'll definitely be able to tell.
9. Set this mixture and let it revel in its own juices. Success and prosperity may not come until the end of the recipe or it may have already exacted itself, but it is within the mixture. Let your ambition and passion ignite and heat up with excitement up until you're ready for your first step. Whether that is at a cooler temperature than the standard "I've-had-it-final-straw degrees" or the extremes of "I'm going nowhere with my life freezing" and "I-have-too-much-on-my-plate-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-incinerating" it is all subjective to what you feel. Don't forget to feel. Just judge when you're ready to put yourself and your life to the challenge and, when you are completely prepared and dying to take that first step, open the ambition and passion and set the container in. [ It will be able to withstand all of that you need to endure, don't worry about that. Just worry about getting through the fire and flames. ]
10. Don't give up. It's hard when it's hard and it gets harder when you least expect it or need it. But there's always a reason for everything. And just like any other experience in life, the end result may differ from the original product: if you give one-hundred percent [ 100% ] of yourself to your commitments and to yourself, you will have nothing to worry about. The container will take the form of the people and things you set aside for the rubbish or that were very cherishable to you. You'll wonder how they got in and how they protected you from the relentless heat of Life, but never mind that - you've got other things to tend to.
11. Give yourself a break. Turn off the ambition, resolve, and prepare yourself with some gloves of adversity, of reminiscing and honor for your past to remove your container. It will be hot and weathered and possibly fragile, but your contents will have glazed over into a beautifully transformed heart. This heart that you recognize will have the same form, same shape, same beat, same everything. The only thing that will differ, but not limited to, will be its installation of appreciation. You'll learn to appreciate yourself so much more, ergo connecting appreciation, compassion, love and happiness to so much more in your surroundings.
12. Take a moment to admire the changes you've made. It's not easy as cooking, per se, but it most certainly is doable. And not too many people follow the instructions. Some may waver, some may find faults and mend it to their own, come up with better or worse results - some may even end up with the same heart that they started with. After you spend about a few winks of your eyes, a few tears of admiration and the same gratefulness that bathed the heart before all else, fit the heart right back where it belongs and your body in the place it belongs. Your mind will have recalibrated to accommodate the matters of your new body, and you can enjoy your self-promotion, progress and positivity. Serving size contingent upon the willingness and capacity of your heart.

<3 ~ Monty.
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