Time Ticks On...

photo by Loay Abu-Husein 
I'm in a strange place as the new year approaches. This year has been filled with disappointments and accomplishments, deception and revelation, gains and losses, but then again what year isn't? I've seen a lot of people bemoaning 2013 and wishing for 2014 to get here as if that will magically reset the clock and make all the bad stuff disappear... Wouldn't that be nice?

But would it really? I'm not so sure. I've come to realize the bad stuff is just as important to a full life as the good stuff. Without the struggles, how would we grow? Without the disappointments, how would we discover what we don't want? Without the losses, how would appreciate the gains?

I love my life. I am happy not because my life is perfect, but because I know this is my journey and I get to travel it until the moment I don't. And, frankly, at least for now, I'd rather be travelling it than not. Even when my heart breaks, I know it's temporary. I may never love without the ache of regret, but that's simply a sign of life lived. I live my life the best I can whether it's January or May or December. I make my share of mistakes just like everyone else. Sometimes I even dwell on those mistakes even though I know it's a waste of my time.

I could bemoan missed deadlines and unaccomplished goals right now. I could list my achievements for the year. I could talk about how life interfered with my writing projects and how my writing projects affected my life. Honestly, though I keep thinking about the lessons I've learned about starting where I am and staying in the moment...

So as I reflect on 2013 coming to an end, I look forward to what can be, back at what was, and then ground myself in what is. Today, this moment is the only thing I can effect, so come what may in 2014, I will live this moment and then the one that comes after it.


T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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