Dear Tracy,

It’s a new year and it’s time to focus on you
Whether it’s saying no
Or taking a mental health day
You know how to please you
This year is all about elevation
Get to focusing on your goals
To be more productive
With your purpose
Didn’t you quit your job last year
To free up time?
Keep in mind
Everything will align
As divine as you are
Sharing your words with others
Will prove to be beneficial
As you find joy in the things you love
This year can be so crucial
As you continue to heal
From your past traumas
There is no need to stress
Live each day
As if it’s your last
And do your very best
Don’t forget to strive for excellence
And continue to make your mom proud
Being yourself
Will make your heart smile
As practicing self care
Is high on your list
The only thing I’m worried about
Is my main priority
For 2023
I’m not shifting my focus
Cause it’s me Vs me
No need for no apology!

They define a goal as a desired result
A place you could be but you’ve never felt
A goal is a destination at the end of a journey
The drive that demands and begs you to hurry
So when asked what my goals are my answer is none
Because goal over journey is simply no fun

We scale mountains of wants just to fall down so deep
Not aware that the journey is the thrill that we seek
Eyes blinded by goals and cyclical lists
Ambitions that sink into vicious abyss

We strive so vehemently to reach our goal
Yet it only corrodes a much bigger hole
One so rapacious it can never be filled
A thirst so dehydrating it won’t ever be killed
So when asked what my goals are my answer is none
Because what good is a dream if it ever is done?

Why live a life that your past version wrote?
When a life in the present is a life filled with hope
And I prefer not be bound by the constructs of time
Because the longer the journey the finer the wine
So when asked what my goals are my answer is none
Because life is the prize and you only get one

We’re taught to set goals and strive hard for peace
But goals are a monster that never know sleep
We’re taught that success will make us content
Convinced that our failure is a pain we lament
But desire and pleasure are not truly friends
Letting go of desire is when suffering ends

So when asked what my goals are my answer is none
Because life is lived better with no plans to come

As I stroll into 2023
I have high hopes and a positive view
I think of that phrase: “New year, new me”
And if I stay focused, that can be true

It’s not that I want to change who I am
I am actually starting to love myself
It’s that I finally see my potential, and damn…
I deserve a life full of good health and wealth

I get to decide what I consume
Both physically and mentally
And if I eliminate the doom and gloom
The love and light are what I’ll see

This year I will put effort into being present
I will practice the art of letting go
This year, there is no room for resentment
I do what pleases me, and I don’t feel guilty saying “no”

As the years go on, I always remain grateful
The hard times and life lessons help me grow
As I get older, I become more graceful
I stand in my confidence as I go with the flow

I am happily floating into 2023
I have faith that all is unfolding as it should
This year I deserve to focus on me
And do everything that happy, healthy me would.

My goal for the 2023 new year
Is to not buy tickets to any
Performances.
I was a thespian, okay?
Rehearsing the perfect line.
In the perfect tone.
I started to sound like
Someone I did not quite recognize.
So, I am trying something new this year,
To be less of you and more of me.
No more performing.
No more stages.
No more dressing up.
This is a dress down
Kind of year. One where the messy bun isn’t just a statement piece it is the piece to a missing girl. Who found herself lost in the 22nd act of the worst drama series ever. We are moving to romance this year. The best film ever. The one where the girl falls in love with you. You, over there, hidden in the glass mirror. I’ve seen you before. You look so familiar, and I don’t think I ever got your name last time. I want to take her out. On a really nice date. With cherry red picnic tablecloths and Sunday shaped strawberries. I want to taste the warmth of her skin on mine. I want to get to know her this year. I’ll scribble the same goal over every whiteboard in the house and as I bend over the kitchen counter, I’ll cut cucumbers into clouds and dream of the day I get to meet her. They say new year’s resolutions usually end the second week of January, but I’m hoping we’ll make it to April and then I can shower you in spring. My new year’s goal is to love more of you and less of me.

here’s to a year
of feeling lighter
of practicing
& only pursuing the things
that set my soul on fire.

here’s to a year of intentionality
of manifesting my truest reality
and not settling for anything in “actuality”
here’s to a year of “no”
of no longer feelings afraid of taking my time
and moving slow.
– slow, intentional movements are the only way we can grow.

but also,
here’s to a year of “yes!”
of falling in loving
of trying to not add to my own distress
by avoiding the things that make me feel best.

here’s to a year of authenticity
of simplicity
of consistency
and only engaging in actions
that will lead to my prosperity
and ending 27 debt free.

here’s to no longer denying my humanity.

here’s to another year of peace
but in this one,
I will fully trust
and leave
indecisiveness
worry
and inaction
in tomorrow’s dust.