The sharp edge of a new year heralds fear, power, courage and risk: Let's go!

A fresh blotter on my craft table for my notes and jottings in this new year.

I like the sharp edge of a new year. We are done with the old and, with a flip of the calendar page, we are into a brand new beginning. Three hundred and sixty-five days in which to be and do ‘new’ or, maybe, to keep being and doing what we have always been and done: Being ourselves to the best of our ability. Either way — new or more of the same, the year will unfold and so will we: Unfold. Open up. Step into…whatever we are able to make of this year 2026.

Before sprawling head-first into the new year, I like to look back to assess the past year, which I usually do by reviewing my phone and desk calendars, taking stock of personal appointments, teaching highlights, and writing milestones, then crafting some kind of story about the past twelve months. 

But this year I did something different. 

I looked at my craft table blotter on which I jot down things that catch my attention while listening to the radio or podcasts, or having a TV show (baking shows, drama shlock) play in the background. What could possibly come of that, you ask? Well, last year, four words stood out from among the jottings: fear, power, courage, and risk.

FEAR: “A good marine doesn’t act in the absence of fear, they act in the face of it.”
Jack Sheridan, Virgin River: Season 6/episode 3

POWER: “Your power is relative, but it is real. And if you do not learn to use it, it will be used against you, and me, and our children.”
Audre Lorde, writer

COURAGE: “Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that — that’s what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that’s really special and if you’re not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself.”
Amy Poehler, actor

RISK: “We don’t go on because we’re ready; we go on because it’s 11:30 pm.”
Lorne Michael, creator, Saturday Night Live

Re-viewing my blotter and taking note of these jottings made me stop and think for a bit, and then I answered four questions.  

What are my fears?

• The pitch dark
• Idiot leaders
• Climate change deniers
• Anti-vaxxers
• Haters of every stripe
• Also: losing the cat; running out of tea; bad drivers; missing important appointments; no one signing up for our writing courses…

What is my power?

• To focus on kindness, connections and courage in the everyday of my life
• To keep my vision clear, my heart open, my mind sharp
• To stay the course of my creative work 

Where do I find my courage?

• This is maybe the most important question. 
• If hope is a boldly active verb, then, surely, courage is no less a noun. 
• Courage is doing even in the face of fear and uncertainty and in the absence of any guarantee. 
• Courage is being on the right side of justice, dignity, and equality, no matter the cost. This means making connections across the spectrum; trying new things; going beyond the known and the comfortable and maybe failing and then — and always — trying again. 
• Courage is carrying on in the face of all evidence to the contrary. "Nevertheless, she persisted" comes to mind. 

What is 'risk' for me? 

I am old enough (every day) and bold enough (most days) to be just fine with the risk of failure, so I'm prepared to fail if the risk holds even just a glimmer of possible success. Because if I don't try, I will never know what success might have looked like. 

It’s 11:30 pm you say? 

I’ll go on! 

I am not alone, right? 

You are right here. 

Take my hand... 

and let's go!  

Though we are, at times, surrounded by, and led, by fools, we always have each other — the courageous ones. We are not alone. 

So. 

My first (bilingual) jotting on the 2026 blotter

Let us take on 2026 with all our heart, with all our smarts, and with all that we are with (and to) each other. 

Six days in, 359 to go…

—————

Housekeeping 1: I owe you a report on how my at-home retreat went over the holidays. In a word, great. It reminded me how powerful it can be to just say NO. Striking those days off the calendar was a visual reminder that the time was mine alone to manage. This was not magic. It did not prevent the furnace from acting up and needing emergency intervention on a very cold weekend, but I had the space in my mind to handle it. Beyond the furnace, every time something came up as a possible “should”, I reminded myself of my core retreat rule: Just say no; you are committed to yourself. For me, this worked. I highly recommend it as a regular holiday practice. 🗓

Housekeeping 2: Dear Readers -- Thank you for the lovely comments on my post last week. It warmed my heart to hear directly from so many of you; each and every one you fuels my writing practice. Onwards into this new year; together we can will do good things. 💞

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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.