2018

Photograph by Alice Karayiannis

I found myself again one morning when I opened the window and smelled the fresh daisies growing in my backyard. I ran outside and danced under the sunshine and nothing had felt that warm in a long time. The rays on my skin and the grass beneath my feet; nothing had been that normal in so long. I found myself in the novels I read and in the country music I played while riding shotgun. I found myself while walking along the beach and witnessing the sun settling down. It was beautiful and when the sun rose the next day, I found myself while trying to tie my curtains up. I made myself some hot tea and I thought to myself, "I'm going to be alright." Because I found myself while pacing down the open roads at midnight. And we laughed under the stars and I remembered that the world is much bigger than I am and there is so much more out there than what we have. I found myself while tracing back my footprints along the sand and listening to the waters rush along the creeks. I found the warmth of living and breathing after all the sorrow. I found the person I was before I realised that bruises weren't just physical, they were emotional too. But I found that person again. I found the person who still believes that life is good.

 ~ Ming D. Li

For 2018, I hope that I keep finding myself in everything I do; I hope that I keep finding what nourishes my soul, what makes me feel alive. Because there are a thousand ways to fill my soul when I am at peace, when I am in the moment. I hope that I'll manage to find balance and stillness amidst the chaos of everyday life so that I'll remember how to be, how to see and, most importantly, how to breathe. Wherever I am, whatever I do, to just let go and be there.