not count down, rise up (the intention)

i wonder when we started waiting till midnight, watching the minutes and the seconds (or a giant ball of lights imperceptably sliding down a post) as if these machines are the absolute dictators of passing time. why should we let a clock tell us that something is new? i'd rather feel the newness warming my face.

last year i had a doozie of a new-years. i fell asleep waiting for my roommate to get home from work so we could go to a party. woke up at 12:15 and went to bed! pretty pathetic. but then i couldn't sleep past 6:30, so i got up, had a coffee and went on a walk alone. the world was absolutely silent. i think i smiled the entire walk - living and loving every single step.

i decided yesterday that this year i'm going to sleep early and wake before dawn. i'm going to greet the first sunrise of 2009 and let its glow birth hope and love in my soul. i thought about keeping it a secret - as if it won't be as 'good' if i tell anyone what i'm going to do. as if no one's ever thought of it before me! so then i realized how silly that is - and realized that perhaps one or two of the three people who read this might want to try the same thing.

so i say do it. i mean, what's one year of trying something different? i'd love to hear about it if you do.