The Art of Being and Not Setting Goals for 2025

The weather here in Salem, MA has been unusually warm and super dry. We haven't had a proper rain in months and we're now experiencing a severe draught. It's so bad that Massachusetts has had a number of huge brush fires that wiped out acres and acres of marshland and wooded areas. The governor issued a statement to conserve water and put a ban on outdoor, open fires. This is not normal. Usually, November is a bone-chillingly wet month. It's usually the kind of month that requires mud boots and layers, soup and stews, and the comforter on the bed. Not this year. Nothing about this year is normal.

July and August was unreasonably hot ... so hot that for the first time in decades I was battling heat rash ... so hot that I avoided going outside ... so hot that the air conditioner did barely anything. This is not normal for us here in Massachusetts.

I applied for a remote, full-time Instructional Professor job at the University of Mississippi in June. This position was a quick hire because two people were leaving the department. The start date was August 22 -- the Fall Semester. I got the position and frantically built four online courses, courses that I'm still building as I go along. I have 280 students. I'm doing the best I can, but I'm exhausted and frustrated and ... well ... exhausted. While it's normal to feel exhausted during the semester, it's not normal for such a quick and late hire. I'm grateful for the job and I truly adore my fellow faculty and students ... none of this is normal. 

I guess I don't really do normal. I never have. And when I try to do normal, it backfires splendidly.

Every Samhain, I reflect on the past year: where I've been, what I've been doing, what I've accomplished, what still needs to be done. Every Samhain, I write lists and lists of things I'm proud of and how close I am to achieving my goals. Every Samhain, I start to create the goals and intentions for the coming year: health and fitness goals, scholarly goals, teaching goals, creative goals, etc. Last year, I said that I would read two books a month, get out three papers for publication, get a full-time job, build a garden, start painting again, etc. The list was long. I accomplished a quarter of those goals. Again.

My Christmas cactus is blooming again!

All Spring and Summer I worked on my papers, just to put them on the back burner because I needed to build my courses. Hooray! I got a full-time job ... but, crap! My publishing is, once again, nonexistent. Hooray! We joined the YMCA with the intention of exercising ... but crap! We went only a few times and my whole schedule was nuked. Hell, I gained 15 pounds since the Summer! I'm 15 pounds heavier than when I started Bat Fit and lost all that weight in 2012. Hooray! I found an awesome 18th century reenacting group that I'm really excited to be a part of ... crap! I have had no time to sew because all I'm doing is trying to survive this semester.

My gorgeous spider plant is thriving.

 My houseplants are thriving this year. After moving them around the house to find the right amount of sunlight and warmth, they are nicely settled into their perfect places. I repotted all of my plants and fertilized them at the beginning of the Summer. They're due for another feeding before they settle down for the dark, cold months ahead. Each plant has its own watering schedule. Each plant gets rotated so that it doesn't favor one side. They are thriving. My Christmas cactus bloomed for Easter and now for Thanksgiving. Lulu -- that's her name -- will continue blooming through Christmas. She's huge and happy and hearty! My spider plant has produced three rounds of babies. I've clipped and potted the first two. The first round of babies is now producing babies. Life is thriving in my house. 

The plants are settled and happy where they are. They get enough sunlight and water and fertilizer. As a result, they are blooming, thriving, and reproducing. They happily soak in whatever sun there is and effortlessly make my living space comfortable, homey, and healthy. They don't set goals. They don't plan. They just are and they are pretty successful at it. 

For the first time in a long time, I haven't set any goals or intentions for the New Year. I haven't made plans. I haven't set deadlines. For the first time in a very, very long time, I'm going into the New Year with a completely blank slate: no goals, no deadlines ... nothing! I don't have a list of accomplishments that I want to achieve by 2026. I don't have any intentions. I'm not trying to adopt any productivity hack. I'm not designing my dream life. 

Instead, I'm taking a cue from my house plants. I'm where I need to be and have enough to thrive. Don't get me wrong, I'm itching to read and write about art. I want to move my body so that I can feel good and remain flexible. I'm dreaming about my garden and my chicken coop. But, I'm not setting goals or perfect health numbers or deadlines. I'm going to stop trying to control every aspect of my life and just "be" for change. I'm letting go.