Q08

Is there something (a person, a cause, an idea) that you want to investigate more fully in the coming year?

Be curious. Click the link, read the Wiki, read the full article, google the word, look up the context of the learned league answer (after submitting), expand your knowledge. Absorb more nonfiction, in whatever format appeals to you and sticks. I have gaps in so much history and world events and other cultures that I want to fill in.

I would like to find a trio of friends and have bi-weekly hangs so that we could truly know what each other is going through so we can support each other for what we need to survive this difficult city.

I wish there was a way to create community without the internet. It feels like we forgot how to be human.

Play better poker. Give money away effectively.

I want to investigate what it means to build a life from possibility instead of survival. For a long time, so much of my energy went toward enduring—illness, uncertainty, disappointment, work that drained me, plans that kept getting postponed. This year, for the first time in a long time, I’ve had glimpses of what it feels like to have enough energy, mobility, confidence, and hope to ask a different question: not “How do I get through this?” but “What do I actually want?” I still want to keep deepening my Korean and understanding what a life in Seoul could realistically look like. I still want to keep building creatively—through writing, music, scholarship, and work that feels like it belongs to me. But I also want to investigate joy more seriously. Play. Rest. Friendship. Travel. Gaming. Music. The things I used to treat as optional because there was always something more urgent. I want to learn what happens when I stop assuming my life has to be organized around limitation. I don’t mean pretending limits don’t exist; I mean letting possibility have equal weight. I want to know who I am when I am not constantly preparing for the next loss, setback, flare, or disappointment. More than anything, I want to investigate what it means to trust the life I’m building while I’m still building it.

As with last year, I want to feel more motivated in choices and pathways that feel authentic and that lean into the freedom I have now with time and space. I am achieving this through continuing to be involved in dance and music. Perhaps I am looking for my own practice. whatever that may be.

There are so many things I want to invest in further. I think, if I had to select one thing, it would be healthy living. That includes, but is not limited to, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, sleep. I want to investigate how those topics interact and help, or hinder, my bipolar, my migraines, and my arthritis.

I’d like to investigate the relationship between drive and softness. For most of my adult life, drive has had a very specific shape. It has meant working hard, pushing ideas forward, choosing a professional 'swim lane,' earning more, taking on responsibility, and proving that I can create value. There is a lot about that part of me that I like. It has helped me build a life I’m proud of. But as I enter my forties, become a father, and think more seriously about cultivating softness, I’m curious whether drive always has to feel so forceful. Can I still be deeply driven while being softer with myself when work is uncertain? Can I pursue something professionally meaningful without measuring my worth by whether a client keeps me on contract? Can I build a company without letting it consume the parts of my life I’ve spent so long trying to create? I’m also curious whether I’ve defined drive too narrowly. Maybe drive can be directed toward family, marriage, creativity, friendship, service, or the kind of home Michael and I build. Maybe raising children with intention is a form of drive. Maybe building a multilingual, adventurous, service-oriented family is a form of drive. Maybe being present is a form of drive. I think the question I want to explore is whether I can keep the energy, imagination, and intensity that have served me while loosening my grip around how those qualities need to show up. What does a driven life look like if I’m not always pushing?

I recently learned about the Anti-Brain Rot Reading Challenge and am definitely intrigued to try it. Hayley completed it this year and I'm hoping to do it with her next year. Getting back into my identity as a reader is important to me and I want to more fully dedicate myself to building a better reading habit. The premise of this challenge is that you intentionally and consistently read diverse media to support brain health and combat doomscrolling. Sign me up!

The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) methodology

I'm thinking a bit about van life right now? But I don't know if that's a good idea.

It’s apparent that my focus is more and more on myself as I near the end of my life. So, I don’t have an overarching cause or idea at this point. The promise of democracy is still high on my list of needs for the world.

I do weekly standouts on the Holyoke overpass, pick up bail refunds, and have a penpal in detention, but none of these things feel very meaningful in the face of the atrocities committed daily by this administration. I want to continue to seek ways to make a difference.

Maybe not one... I would like to put the work in to get to know people and make friends in Portugal. Apply some of the concepts of how to relate to people and show up for them.

Rest. Rest and balance. I've started drawing a hard line on bedtime. Mama doesn't read stories after 9 pm, because I'm burning the candle at both ends and we all need more sleep.

Yeah -- myself. Now that I've been through everything that I have in the past ~year (and prior) -- what do I do now? This year will be a truly formative one for me. I just don't know how yet. Boy do I hope I don't fuck it up.

Design refusal. Bring the AI (or the --cough-- SI). Bring the market collapse. Bring the sea level rise. Bring the fractured demos. Inside of those troubles, which will consume the poor and the non-poor soon after, I'll be learning furiously. Going back to the roots. Stating the obvious. Standing in the street impeding injustice.

Making a personal comeback story. Personal transformation -- physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. And what it takes to sustainably get there, without whipping myself, and without letting everything slide either. Is it a mindset shift, first? I've done it before and I can do it again :)

I want to understand how to both succeed at my research and build policies and programs that will achieve primary care for all in global health, i.e., the "thing" I've been chasing my whole life. I want to figure out how to fuse both - not to finish that work of course but to have clarity on how to blaze that trail.

1. Jewish relationship with our world. 2. Lex and Lola

i want to read “investigate” more philosophy in the next year.

More creativity (mosaics?). More singing. Maybe back to dancing again?

I don't want to, but I will be looking into IVF. I do also want to explore what it might look like to be a member of Kehillah. I want to make more art.

Audiokonsult! Being involved with left party health care policy!

Stewardship of the marsh that I look at every day through conservation groups, a conservation easement anything that will assure the health of these acres.

Various volunteer activities have petered out over the last year or 2 & I'm hoping to find a new way to give back. I don't so much investigate but wait for something to fall into my lap. I'll go looking if nothing does but I'm excited to start something new after some very long-term (15+ years) volunteer jobs.

I feel like it's still me, but that isn't getting me anywhere. I have a new job, which is quite different than what I've done in the past. I am curious as to where it will bring me. Or maybe it's just a nice resting place for now, until things become clearer.

I'm going to spend some time working on DBT concepts in therapy this year. It's time to put aside my negative feelings about coping skills and give them a chance. I'm not going to promise to love them, but I promise to learn more about them. Additionally, I'm going to spend time in community with other Jews and continue to investigate where Judaism fits into my adult life.

I need to take care of myself. I used to have the capacity to do things like investigate causes and ideas and contribute a lot to the world around me. At this point, though, my heart has been broken so much and so many times that I’m on survival mode and just need to take care of myself. This can’t be what Hashem wants for me.

As a new volunteer gallery teacher at my local art museum, I would like to deepen my knowledge about art. After my War and Peace haiku project is over at the end of this year, I'll need a new passion project, but I'm not yet sure what that will be. I would like to develop a daily meditation habit and learn more about meditation.

At some point I want to tackle writing about my life. Now I think the shift is toward my Sister and mother. Asking them questions and recording their stories while they are still with me on Earth.

Myself. I have to investigate and reinvest in myself. So much of this ending has me hollowed out and raw. Only I've been that way to varying degrees, for years now. A lot of that is on him, but much of it is on me for letting him. I can't regret trusting and loving him. I can only regret that he wasn't careful with that gift.

Contributing to local mutual aid.

There are two organizations that I am interested in learning more about specifically. I am a lifetime member of Hadassah and I need to learn more about it. The other is the AJC. I donate money, but I don’t take the time to learn more about its mission and how it works. I suppose you could also say that I’d like to learn more about the WRJ and the RAC but only two organizations this year. I’m a member of the WRJ and belong to a URJ synagogue. I think however I need to stick to two organizations this year. Maybe next year I’ll add those other two.

In a word, music production. Not only the sound engineering piece, but also all aspects of creating music including songwriting and performing. With post work time approaching, I should have plenty of time to devote the craft.

I’d like to expand on my local community and find the people and causes that matter to me most and help them prosper.

My work on my relationship with my sister this past year has uncovered that I hold a lot of frustration, which I see anger coming out sideways. I hate to say it, but I hope to do a lot of investigation into anger in myself in the coming year.

This year (quite recently), we lost Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem... a few years ago, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. With Dolly and Gloria going quite close to one another, it made me start to realize that all of my female idols are quite older than me and reaching their time (stay strong and healthy, Jane Fonda!). It made me wonder... who is in the next generation? Who else can I look to / look up to? This is what I'd like to explore/investigate more in the upcoming year.

Better at photography - push myself to get out and practice. Maybe join a hiking group too

We had been talking for a while about moving to Scotland and I would like to see if that’s going to be a reality. I also loved our holiday to Amsterdam and it would be amazing to move there, although bureaucratically much more challenging. Or maybe the answer is to take the things that we like about those places and weave them into our current lives here.

Becoming secure with myself enough to do my part to give my relationship wings that we can both use to fly.

I am in a little deep with the kids becoming teens. I've been thinking about investigating my beliefs about parenting--thinking about my childhood with therapy as a way to be more intentional with my kids. I don't think my parents did it wrong--we turned out good, but I also think is there a way to be both loving and firm and known and authentic as a parent.

Quiero investigar a personas que tengan las identidades que quiero crear en mi vida: escritores, deportistas y entrenadores. También me gustaría empezar a certificarme en los temas que me han apasionado los últimos años de mi vida.

I leyned Torah for Lucy's bat mitzvah in December. It went so so. I leyned torah for services this summer. They went so so. Then I went to leyn torah for my bar mitzvah anniversary last week (different parshat). It went extremely mediocre. I think I'd like to learn how to leyn torah more smoothly, more comfortably.

I would like to learn more about pathways to lessen stress.

I'm taking an AI course, so that is something I'm actively investigating and deciding whether and how to use and resist AI.

Addiction, weight lifting, endurance, poems

The idea of truly living a free life. One that is abundant in all ways (love, money, sex, experiences, connections, etc).

I keep trying to gain understanding of Marco, although I've made a lot of progress. The idea of mindfulness always intrigues me, and I hope to be better able to maintain it. Mind excercizes interest me. And perhaps more concentration on my writing.

I think AI, even in its current "not really AI" form, will make a lot of changes to the world--it already has. I use more AI tools than I think my friends and family realize. I feel torn because the ease of AI is at odds with my belief that nature deserves to be protected. So, I want to learn more and be an informed consumer of this new technology.

becoming a chaplain educator

Learn more board games!!! Contemplate installing an LLM on my game rig.

I want to investigate the Bridges program. I want to be good at this program. I just got it and haven’t even received training for it. It seems to be an effective way to teach literacy and English to students with limited formal education. I feel I’ve lost my desire to teach English as a New Language. What else can I do? How can I survive in the toxic structure of my work environment?

I'd like to continue reading the novels of Barbara Pym. I'm also enjoying my reading about the first and second world wars. And I'd like to read more Jane Austen. I read "Pride and Prejudice" this year and quite enjoyed it. We followed it up by watching the famous BBC TV adaptation. There's a new version of "Sense and Sensibility" out in the next few weeks. I'd prefer to have read the book before I see the film.

I'd love to have more weekends where I read the newspaper... In fact I'd just like to read more. More books, articles etc... things that expand my mind and horizons.

I want to figure out what is wrong with me and fix it so I can have a fulfilling relationship.

Myself - sounds egotistical but I need to let go of the pain in the past and stop the automatic self destructive reactions.

Fighting better - I recently began reading the Art of Fighting by Priya Parker and I want to find a better way to communicate, especially with my family. I have a tendency to revert back to teenage angst when in conflict with my parents and sibling.

Physics.

yes but I don't know what it is yet mid-career grad programs?

Yes Oliver and torah

Relocating out of California, helping Democrats overcome the "cronyism" and enablers in the current administration, learning to play the piano.

I would like to take to heart the chewing-out from that hospital patient's wife about my Rosh Chodesh group not doing any tikkun olam, and use the leadership that I do have at both temples to get people participating in acts of service. That was actually pretty good advice. I hope that for my first RH groups of 5787, I can create spaces where we can do some actual community service. I was also thinking about investigating Nithya Raman, and how I like her, but I haven't felt activated or energized to campaign for her. I wonder if that's because I just don't necessarily believe she's the most exciting candidate in the world, or if I haven't investigated that thoroughly enough because I don't think Karen Bass is all that bad, or if I have just lost my drive to participate in politics altogether because I am so discouraged and disillusioned and burnt out by politics in general and everything around it feels futile, even though that's not totally accurate. Local-level politics are definitely important. Should I donate more to Nithya? Should I start volunteering again for political campaigns? I have dissociated from politics a bit and I wonder if I'll have the bandwidth in the next year to activate that part of me again that fights for the candidates I believe can make a difference.

We have all been forced into getting a refresher on our constitution, our democracy, and the rule of law. As a people and a person I became complacent not realizing it takes all of us, in our own individual way, fighting for our constitutional rights daily. We are a global community and need to act as if what we do will matter on a global scale. I want to be mindful everyday of this fact. What I do each day is a choice about being aligned with solutions for building a democratic global community, or not. I want to be part of the solution, from climate change, to habitat preservation, to equal rights and voting rights. It takes involvement, staying attuned, centered and open to learning about what works and why.

i’d like to explore polyamory as a viable relationship style, whether that’s this year or next i’m not sure yet

I want to spend more time learning how to connect with Spirit via Soul Scribing and readings with Heather and Sue.

Rigoberta Menchu, Cherry Moreno.

Torah Study Shabbat observance

Yellow tea production and bee keeping. Being loving in while facing the slow loss of the person I married

More of who I want to be and less of "pleasing" others by taking care of them. To be more accountable to myself (and others), to make less excuses, to complain less, to see more joy than darkness, and to be the highly favored, chosen, beloved daughter of the King I'm called to be. God is good all the time - time to show it!

I want to know more about the various Medicare options that will be open to me so that if I'm forced from my job without plan or notice, I don't lose medical coverage and don't have to pay penalties for late selection of coverage.

I’m not sure how to answer this. I want to understand more about what our country is facing. The reality of fascism. The reality of oligarchy. What will become of millions of people here and around the globe if all the money is used for one man’s insanity? I know how we got here. But I don’t believe that minds can be swayed so easily. I’ve lost rust in reality. AI can be anyone, anywhere. Who to believe? Books are being discarded and will never be replaced. How will a fake history enable future generations to become good citizens of the world and the universe?

Get better at using AI agents at work? Find a harp teacher? Practice knife technique in the kitchen? Put more effort into social connections? Maybe all of those.

I want to learn and develop my skills as a community organizer. It's so important to so many people that community exists and is available for everyone, and we need help creating those spaces for people. I want to help people feel welcome and included.

I want to devote more attention to my creative outlet of writing. Continuing to write The Nine and hopeful complete first drafts of the next 3 stories by this time next year. Also, would like to begin a collaboration with my granddaughter on a play.

I would like to understand more of the why some things are broken in San Francisco, namely housing. I'd also like to research how to maintain a healthy weight and body through diet and exercise. I'd like to work with AI to come up with a plan that feels great in my body. I'd also like to do internal investigation with IFS to help unloading my parts and help my exiles.

Color therapy I think it has amazing potential

It's kind of embarassing to admit this, but before I started this job, I had no idea that Coaching was it's own thing with it's own skillset and strategies. I just figured, of course I know how to coach people, I coached all the time as a school psych. But starting this job, I realized I have absolutely no formal training in how to coach. I have been collecting books and signing up for newsletters and webinars and I would like to continue doing that over this next year to better hone my skills.

Myself.

I’m really hoping to be a part of the Black and Jewish alliance building that is happening. I find it hopeful and pertinent and important.

I want to find out what happened to Theda Bara after she got married - was she happy to be a quiet, unemployed housewife or did she resent her husband and his rules? I also want to know more about the subject of my novel. I need to read her book.

I'd like to understand more about myself and my own goals. I have an idea in my head of what life is "supposed to be like" and I don't think I really understand what I want my life to be like. I hope to explore that more and understand my own life goals.

I want to learn how to build a successful business, how to become financially independent.

This is the year of Tiny for me. Going to implement it no matter how .. it has to happen. Think out of the box and make it happen.

Myself. I want to reconsider the pieces that make me who I am and decide anew if they are what I still choose in this version of myself.

There are a few things I want to explore more deeply. One is going back to my Jewish knowledge. I want to return to the maps I was working on and recover that part of my life. I want to make that knowledge my own again, because that’s part of what brought me here in the first place. But I also want to explore myself more as a person. I want to be selfish in that sense. A lot of my locus of control and my sense of identity have been external. For a long time, I also tried to heal what I call “the void” by constantly meeting new women and going in and out of relationships. Right now, I want to explore that part of myself instead. I don’t just want to explore the void, I want to heal it, which is something I’ve already been working on and want to continue doing. Another thing I want to explore is handcraft. I want to learn to make things with my hands rather than with a computer. I used to love photography and I used to work as a photographer. One of the things I loved about it was the craft itself: developing film, making the copies, actually working with my hands. I don’t really have the time, patience, or space to go back to doing that now, so I want to find something else that gives me that same kind of experience. And connected to all of this, I want to explore discipline. I want to find better ways of having discipline with myself, because that’s something I feel is missing in my life. I’ve already done a lot in that regard, but I want to keep exploring new ways of doing it.

Intermittent fasting. Strength training. Modification of gut flora. Grief processing. How to revive civil discourse and stifle extremism.

Torah and tzedaka begin at home. I want to devote all my energy to my family and whatever remains, towards feeding the local hungry.

Yes - I need to figure out my why for the work I do, and get better at social media. It's something I've tried and not been able to do over the years, and I kind of hate it, but at the same time I feel like it's important. I just bought a book about how to start a cult that I think will be super helpful, and I want to study how other people do what they do and build followings. I doubt there's a magic bullet for me in this regard, but I bet I can learn a lot for what others do and don't do.

Hedy Schleifer

I really can't think of a person, cause or idea that I want to investigate more fully in the coming year. I just want to live my life to its fullest. I am tired of getting into analysis paralysis

I want to continue to investigate Buddhism and Progressive Christianity

This year is all about investigating what it means in practice to be a therapist and learning about the ways I most like to do that.

Training in psychotherapy, use of tarot and womens circles

I want to help more Olim integrate into Israeli society and fall in love with our country and its people. Break the diaspora bubble borders, bring more people to learn and understand our tradition and history, assimilate with people f the most diverse ancestry and background.

Honestly I don’t know. I feel like I’ve got enough on my plate. The world feels overwhelming.

how to measure learners improvement after a given exercise. how to measure learners learning through a process. how to be successful in getting messages out

Finding a passion/ intetest that is unrelated to my work. I need to prepare for retirement and I don’t want to waste my time. I’m trying to see how I can use my time to help tamp down the anger / volume of political divide

Aliya

I'd like to work on communication in my marriage, which means having a deeper understanding of my husband and not dismissing our differences.

nothing specific today - my curiousity takes me in multiple directions every day!

Retirement.

I honestly don't know right now! I would like to get back to reading more books in the coming year, once I have more time and mental bandwidth.

My sleep coach (therapist) recommended that I look into the concept of radical acceptance, which I would like to explore further — especially finding the balance between striving for the healthiest old age I can manage and accepting the inevitable losses involved.

Expansion and Love in its truest form. The task to get there is to remove the obstacles of feelings of deficit and other emotions driven by fear.

I didn't really do the volunteer work I hoped to do last year for political and environmental causes, so that's still on the agenda. Possibly also work to improve Israel's image among younger voters.

Me gustaría adentrarme en qué es esta realidad que experimentamos.

Piano. Pottery. Archery. Podcasting. And exploration of rewilding and regionalism in response to the chaos created by the polycrisis.

Martin Luther King .....how to be an effective pacifist and actavist

I continue to explore and define my purpose and ways to give of myself that are more clearly defined. I want to be able to share my story and outline how I've lived as a result of past experiences. Having difficult conversations (the rupture/repair cycle) is where I am currently - I want to get really good at this.

Last year I said marriage, now I am actively getting ready to get married. We are doing wedding counseling with R'D which feels nice and intentional. I am thinking about how much I will need to learn to do my brand new job well-- does that count??

I've been interested in the idea of being at home in a place for some time, of really getting to know a place over long years. A number of people around me have talked about the importance of doing that and of truly knowing a place, especially in the environmental and adjacent fields I work in. I've also been trying to figure out how to truthfully answer the question of "where are you from?" for the past few years, which feels related to this question of knowing a place - which place shaped you, which place truly feels like home? This doesn't feel like a question that will be answered in one year, but I hope to do some good thinking about it, how I can relate to Colorado and California and wherever else I may end up by the end of this year.

My answer is the same as last year: I would like to educate myself more fully in ideas, philosophy, and art.

PEACE and more about my political views

I have been a vegetarian since 1997. I would like to be involved in an animal rescue program and/or volunteer at the humane society. Practice what I preach!

Being present and off social media. Living in our truth. Being a better friend to fewer people.

Writing my first novel based on my life. Yes, it's been that crazy.

I really want to learn about selling my art and doing anything creative, working with studios in the DC area. Other people seem to get themselves immersed and I would like to be one of those people.

Just the Burn the Haystack ideas, I think. Burn through the wheat to possibly find my needle. Stop wasting time on chaff. Etc. I think the principles she writes about can likely be applied to roommate issues, jobs, and other parts of life, too.

Joy and intimacy. Joy, because i feel my life could contain more of that if I only I let myself experience it more. Intimacy because I miss it, and feel like I've closed myself off. Also, I want to make the kids decision once and for all. I've been going backwards and forwards for a couple of years now and it's tiring and keeping us stuck in all ways.

I would like to get more involved in politics. Maybe I'm feeling that way right now just because of the upcoming midterms and because I went to canvas for a school board candidate this weekend. I want to be doing things that can actually make an impact. I never know with stuff like writing postcards or calling my reps. I am not really sure how to start - with the school board candidate, I knew I wanted the incumbent out, and she had canvassing events posted on her website. But beyond that... not sure.

Stoicism. Reading up.

I want to investigate where I can best spend my time and energy for volunteering.

I've given up on intellectual pursuits. I would like to understand the following: 1. History of warfare from medieval to now. 2. Quantum theory, quantum mechanics, quantum computing - I am really thick when it comes to science and maths, and I no longer even try to understand the most basic concepts. I want to understand the very basics. 3. Biology as it pertains to cancer - my husband is dying, I want to understand the thing that is killing him and what is being done to prevent this happening to the increasing numbers of young people dying from it. 4. Similar to last year, I'd like to understand more about metaphysics, the nature of being, possibilities of an afterlife, of more than 3-D living, the possibilities of life elsewhere, anything that makes me step out of the confines of the current world I'm living in. I need to know there's more than we see, what are the possibilities by science or belief.

This year, I'm going to explore opportunities to work on projects with former colleagues, friends, and others who truly interest me, rather than focus solely on winning the interview competitions for jobs that I apply for within the public service. I'm tired of being where I am and either getting overlooked or *just* missing the mark to get promoted from where I am. I think I need to make my own opportunities rather than wait for someone to give me one. I've initiated several casual informational interviews with managers in Corrections with whom I'd like to work and they've excited me by explaining some of the projects they've begun to develop or implement. I want to feel excited about and challenged by work again. I've also let friends/colleagues of mine know that I'm interested in working with them on certain projects they've undertaken and I'll see whether that leads me somewhere.

I would like to investigate doing less this year. To spend time with the hobbies and interests I already have rather than adding more. I seem to have an addiction to starting new things and I would like to commit to use the resources and inventory of things I already have for 1 year before starting anything new.

I want to understand better the divides both inside of Israel and in the diasporic jewish world. This includes studying revisionist zionism and its alternate approach to secular or labour zionism. I want to continue to gain clarity on Israel's path to flourishing.

I want to explore the idea of joy and rest as fuel/ resources for resistance, work and effort. I want to be more present in moments of joy and rest so that I can allow them to really replenish me. As I turn 50, I want to lean into being a woman in my 50’s who knows who she is and knows what’s important. I want to cultivate more of a sense of entitlement to joy and rest, and gratitude for those moments. I also want to cultivate more embodiment— that means intentionally exercising, moving, eating and sleeping. I want to spend more time in nature —slowing down. I want to work less and bring in more pleasure and joy.

I will continue to explore and get to know mi amor aka my partner aka the love of my life…Erica more as we continue sharing in our lives together.

I want to make lace sprang. This means I need to get better at sprang and be willing to play and to fail.

Instead of complaining about what all the rich people I know aren't doing, just start doing more myself. Cousin I can't look at because they work for SpaceX? Stop fixating on them, and start volunteering at the food bank. I want to volunteer at the food bank and investigate homeschooling as a way to better teach my kids antiracism and divest from the system that idolizes someone like El*n M*sk and Tr**p.

spirutal direction. is now the time??

Language teaching.

I’d like to explore my artistic side: make music on the piano, paint/draw, write more.

Moments that matter Play and Magic

I think the person I want to investigate more fully in the coming year is myself — especially my own health and happiness. I want to understand better what truly makes me feel well, fulfilled, and at peace, and learn to give those things more space in my life.

I keep feeling g this draw to help animals in need. Especially dogs. I can’t explain why, but I’ve been having this strong desire in my gut, maybe even soul, to do some kind of work to help them.

In the year ahead, I want to write letters to 3 to 5 people who have had a significant influence on me. The impact these people have made on me. I want to acknowledge and let them know their presence has not gone unnoticed even now at this time in my life. I have no intention of expecting a response, but mostly an opportunity for me to get closure.

I would like to serve to abolish World Hunger more in this next year. After Kili, I would like to plan my trip to Calcutta and help with the Missionaries of Charity and work with the children..

I want Bouquet Collective to be successful! It will bring joy to so many and it is fun to work on a project that has such nice people and does such good.

I need to assess the state of my health before I make any commitments, but I remain interested in the environment and the fight to retain democracy.

I want to dig into the relationships with those people I've been friends with for a long time but haven't always spent time with outside of rehearsal.

I want to learn about AI and the goals that the AI companies have. It seems to me that few people are considering the risks that AI brings. There needs to be government regulation and global evaluation and regulation.

Once again, my answer for last year is the same as this year. I don’t know how to expose my children to Judaism in a positive way that will make them excited about their identity. With Luka, it’s a challenge to know what he gets out of any Jewish activity, but he does seem to like the idea of ritual. Mila has no sense of religion at all, which in some ways is nice and refreshing perspective on the world, but I can’t help feel she is not getting the cultural upbringing that I owe her.

What am I made of? How strong am I really? How can I recover from the hardship I’ve learned as of late. I’ve always been a person motivated by a test of resilience, from exterior forces or from within. I don’t need to prove anything anymore, so how can I let that motivation go?

I am on day 349 of duolingo. I REALLY need to find a native speaker to converse with. Maybe I will switch to German? Or piano? I will continue to dance and move and next year if I get to paddle in the JOSH I will train more with Sarah.

I’d like to resume writing my book “The Power of Connectedness” and I hope that possible admittance into a 2027 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center residency will motivate me. My book’s been in gestation for a decade; I’ve written tens of thousands of words in patches that I’d like to stitch together with a golden thread that makes it compelling and helps others (and myself) to understand why there are so many obstacles to sustaining relationships (personal and professional) and how to overcome them, based on real-life stories. I believe that my finished book can teach readers skills essential for healing our fractured world. In this extremely polarized era, we must talk to and work with people of diverse backgrounds, reaching across divides of national identity, sectors, geographic regions, political perspectives, age, race, religion and gender.

I would like to really lean into my Mussar practice and look into the woman that Rabbi Silver mentioned, Marcia Plumb or work on it on my own. I want to really explore what my own self care both physical and spiritual looks like.

The best question yet again. I think the idea of value and abundance defined by my own terms. I think I spent a good chunk of my life trying to balance other’s expectations with my own and I need to strengthen my own voice more!

I'm don't know what God will allow, what bullshit over people are going to pull. I would like to take an art class maybe ceramics or painting. College didn't allow me relaxation to study art or create anything artistic I had so much math. I want to learn Hebrew to take a turn singing the Torah not just my parsha

Ugandan Jews. So so interesting!

Investigate is a funny word. I want to be present for my loved ones. Loving presence and attention are a kind of investigative learning

I'd like to further investigate Jewish conversion. I'd like to read more about Jewish history. I'd like to explore how my skills and talents could better support causes that I care about in Jewish and interfaith spaces.

Stessa Thompson strikes me as a person that sparked my interest this year and investigating what we could do to spread the use of humate could help grow food and heal the planet. Particularly humate 85. Our constitution represents a cause that deserves investigation and consideration for attention. Ari’s idea for the need of this bicycle accessory needs investigation and patent protection.

I want to continue and deepen my meditation practice.

Tanach. Teenage daughters. Improve choir processes. Harry Potter :) and the people who work to make it happen. Possibly want to start my Drarry fanfic. Want to finish the choir memory book, grandma's Remento book, put out some Harry Potter videos so maybe they'll cast me as Trelawney.

An Idea: doctorate in social work A cause: living a more outwardly joyous Jewish life

I'd like to explore creativity and curiosity more fully this coming year. I have hurdles to overcome when it comes to what I think I'm capable of. I want to try many different artistic avenues and, who knows, I just might find my muse and my groove. And I want to do this with an open mind and remember that if something doesn't turn out the way I thought it would or wanted it to - guess what, I just might find something amazing that I'm not only good at - I can be great at.

I will investigate the idea of me being neurodivergent more, having started the process of diagnosis. It's interesting to ponder if I'm also autistic?! I'd also like to investigate my Indian heritage more.

I would like to try living my current life without continuing to feel like I’m waiting for my life to begin. I’ll be turning 50 and would like to try out what it feels like to honor the choices that have gotten me here and appreciate the parts that are serving me well.

I want to fully investigate making Aliyah, and would like to try living in Israel for a 3 to 6 month stint to see whether this is what I really want to do. I have toyed with it for many years and I think now it's time to do it before it's too late

I have so much going on in my life. I just want to complete the transition phase (studio built, studio moved, possessions retrieved and sorted, and divorce finalized). There's nothing in particular I want to add.

I'd like to get comfortable with knitting. I have a habit of picking it up, getting partway through a project, and then stopping inexplicably. I really want to move forward and get better at different stitches and projects. I just finished a scarf, and it's extremely bad, but it's a finished project. Maybe this time next year I'll have finished a hat or some socks!

I guess my relationship with G-d. how i can be closer. What i can do for him and why it’s important to do things for him.

mutual aid. i want to fill my brain with ideas and examples of how it can work and allow myself to get creative with how it can work in my life.

I would love to be in the presence of Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu-Sarah, as well as other peacemakers (women and men) in Israel/Palestine.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I will be excited to pace myself and learn about matrescence and child development! I intend to maintain my daily mindfulness practice and spiritual rituals as well. I hope to be playful with all of the above and caring for my body! I am excited to read my thrifted Kabbalah book on YK and learn more about the tree of life and Jewish mysticism.

I still haven't gotten involved with SAGE. I want to make that a priority & see if it can be achieved thos year.

Less pursuit of something and more letting go. Shedding what has bound me for so much of my life. Definitions of me that were created without thought, without guidance. Over the past several years I've been coming to parse and understand what used to be unconscious thought processes, to question them, to shift the pathways. The more conscious I become, the better able I am to move beyond the frightened child who sat behind my earlier choices, and be the woman I want to spend the next part of my life with.

I want to keep writing and reading. Harassing and honing and building those skills.

Tom Myself

Abraham hicks

This is an interest from when I was younger that I was very recently reintroduced to - the idea of participant observer, and anthropology as a whole. I am looking for ways to open myself up to new ideas, questions, answers, thoughts, feelings - and cultivating a role where I am both observing and fully present, engaging is appealing to me as one path there.

Same as last year: starting over later in life.

I am still interested in voice lessons and returning to piano tutorials, even though my track record is pretty poor. Yep, copied another one from last yer!

My career. It's important for me to be good in things I do. And I am still learning and need more practice.

Gardening

I would like to spend more time thinking about and working towards social justice and reform. It seems that unless you are a rich, white, straight, Christian (preferably fundamentalist), MAGA male, you cannot assume that your life is going to be secure. I'd like to see people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, people of all religions, women (both cis and trans) feel that same security and opportunity. I'd like to see AI under control. There are so many issues to work on right now, and I want to choose at least a couple of them to give my time and energy to.

I guess I’d have to say AI. I use it, but not heavily. I’m sure I could be using it much more effectively to work smarter and for things in my daily life that take time.

How to bring my joy practice to as many people as possible. Joy is survival, is it resistance, it is resilience. And things are going to get so much worse before they get better. Let joy be our lifeline.

I would like to continue to invest my community through the Rikin Center and other important causes in the West Windsor/Princeton community.

I want to get more into yoga and meditation. I've been enjoying doing a light yoga workout and morning stretches and I want to get more into the meditation side, I think it will be good for my mental health

How to not lose brain cells with AI omnipresent

How to support visionary young people.

I would like to become more activity within the Jewish community in the UK.

I need to commit myself to using Dorico as my main source of notation. So many reasons, including the need to update my operating system. With the repair of my macbookair I can maintain my finale work there while transitioning to Dorico.

No, I’m just trying to survive. Grief is real. I guess I will be in advertently exploring and learning more about myself being alone now and all.

I’d like to learn more about the poly lifestyle. It’s a very different approach to the traditional relationships I’ve grown up with, but there something about it. The idea that you can share experiences with different partners, still have that love and commitment - if anything a deeper level because of the people, trust, communication required. It may not be for me in the end but it’s worth a shot. It would take a reframe or rewiring of my mindset and a stronger sense of self to feel secure in that kind of relationship. I also need to spend time investigating and better understanding myself. This is the first time I’ve ever been alone and it’s an opportunity to really get to know myself, despite some of the work being difficult.

Two things stand out here spiritually and practically. Spiritually, it's connecting further with my spirit, my guides, my practice and living more fully in and by my values Practically, it's diving in the (soon to be planted) garden - the native plants, the new trees, the veggie beds - will all need care and attention. And I'll need to get some knowledge, skills, and tools to cultivate the native landscape and home garden.

I really would like to take care my health in a way that is transformational. Eat three meals a day, drink only water, cut back on the processed foods and sugar. Just love me completely.

All things Selrok and Spire-related. These two things emanated from me looking into climate-related mental health and finding myself hitting brick walls as a trainee therapist, so I pivoted towards mental health in destigmatising environments - in my case, a local EFL football club - which began Spire Therapy CIC, and subsequently Selrok Limited. As these two organisations develop, I am dedicated to making them a success because I am beginning to see clearly how I can earn a living through these organisations and anything else that comes of it in future (e.g. replicating the CIC model)

I want to find something new that I can obsessively investigate. I don’t know what it is yet. I like hearing about forgotten but fascinating moments in history, like those things that inspire me to want to read every book and watch every documentary. I love when that joy of learning comes alive in me, and I’m inspired to learn.

I want to read 12 books this year out of my collection.

One of the things I started this year based on the monks walking for peace was to write down the word 'peace' on some paper often with another word and it marks the day. I do this before I pick up my phone. Simple and effective..

With the artist residency coming along in April/May, I hope to "study art" in a way I have not done before so much. Being self-taught, I have re-invented the wheel far more than I might have needed to, had I been "educated in art." This has benefits and problems alike -- this is a pointed opportunity to address that. Study before I go -- put it into practice there -- practice what I learned afterward, hopefully ever after.

Judendomen

YouTube, and learning sound baths. I've been very busy with trying to learn myself better- in order to achieve what I want, I have to clear out some very old blockages, and trust myself more. Then everything else will become easier. And now is the time to do this.

The only thing that comes to mind right now is exploring private prayer from the perspective of guided meditation. I'd like to "try it on for size" - not adhering to it out of a sense of obligation as I used to do, but truly "making it fit" while keeping the essential structure intact. I think the discipline and increased familiarity would be good for me, and I look forward to the pleasant and meaningful side-effects. (It's something I've been wanting to return to for a while, but I'm not sure what's been holding me back.... fear? discomfort? anticipatory inconvenience? The only way to do it is to DO IT, of course. So fasten your seatbelts!)

I want to figure out what is my style and my clientele when it comes to my practice. I'd like to really take advantage of having Robyn to ask questions and ask for feedback when it comes to building this life as she has done it for herself, and really well. I also have been very curious about the gateway program, alternate states of consciousness and want to be more intentional in my experimentation with this. I already have a couple of home made recordings which I built using the scripts provided but I should do them sitting down or at least in a way where I don't let myself drift off like I have been doing. Hypnosis and mediation, not napping. I accepted this way of doing things when I was healing my nervous system and it worked really really well, I could feel so much vibrations and buzzing during my sessions, I know the power of letting it all happen. But now, I need to move to the next step.

I want to investigate my retirement occupation.

Changing the Ontario rules around car insurance benefits for injuries sustained in a MVA. Currently you must use up any health benefits provided through work/personal insurance before the car insurance pays out at all, and I think this is counter to any logic.

I want to pursue the writing; I’ll probably end up exploring more dance. That’s really how it went down this year. I spent more hours researching places to dance, places to learn, and dance styles — and dancing — than I did writing. I guess because I know what I want from writing. I don’t know what I want from dance, I don’t see an endpoint. Writing next year is a matter of doing. Dancing is still a matter of exploration and investigation.

I would like to dig more deeply into the Jewish calendar and how it offers opportunities for mindfulness.

In February I started taking tango classes, and I love it and want to keep going. I would like to add pilates or weights. I'm also obsessed with why ground floor retail does or does not thrive. And I would like to get more involved at BHS; maybe help create more teacher accountability.

I guess three things I want to more fully investigate in the coming year are being a good employee, budget and finances, and dating. I'm not sure. It's not always easy to be optimistic about these or about myself.

More dancing in every single way. More poetry at the heart of everything.

Still looking for my cause. I was not successful in what I wanted to explore last year - rather, I have found other ways to go. First with Democrats Abroad. Not only did I agree to be on the Board - I am now Secretary. Helping people register abroad to vote in the US means a lot to me, and I am enjoying meeting the people involved. The second cause is Rotary - I am joining the club in TJ, and have no idea what I am getting in to. So it will be an adventure. I am also interested in learning more about cooking and baking bread - so when traveling, it is an option to take a cooking class. How much more can I do?

Meditation. Decluttering.

Me!

I made a lot of progress on last year’s goal of exploring that tension of trying to achieve and living a life that gives me a sense of peace. Feel good about that. This year I want to explore the connection between living a Jewish spiritual life and feeling more empowered to use my wealth, tangible and intangible, to build a life filled with joy, generosity, and the ability to make a meaningful difference. Increasingly believe that this spiritual connection or belief is a vital element of allowing people to loosen their grip on captured capital.

I want to get back into quilting. I want to clean my quilting room/office properly and finish the quilts I've been working on. And I want to do more quilt maps and worldbuilding art and see just how much I can stretch myself in this way.

I want to explore how I can be more confident in conversations and my own knowledge. I tend to keep myself too small. And in the meantime I hope to get some systems going to make my life more streamlined.

I want to explore how I can be a mentor to young men and give them what I never had at that age

I’d like to figure out some things to do in retirement. Some new, and some that I’m already doing. I’d like to continue to learn by reading more, and getting more familiar with artificial intelligence. I’d like to become more handy so I’m more equipped to fix things around the house.

I think professionally, I want to investigate both AEDP and sensorimotor psychotherapy more. I also want to investigate saving for a trip back to London for our 10 year wedding anniversary in 2029. And I think I’d like to investigate ways that I can still have some of my family members still in my life. Still thinking about that one.

Like last year, I really think my time is best spent on improving myself and my business. Volunteering is still a bit of a pipe dream - my schedule is too weird to make it viable, I think.

Cookie science. That is neither a person, nor a cause. But let's call it an idea. I want to know more about how to modify cookie recipes, even create them, to really make them predictable, and to make them my own vision.

I would like to embrace "less is more." I know sometimes more is more, but I want to look around my home and see less. That Swedish idea of "death cleaning." Books that I will never read or read again? Let them go. The hundred or more cd's I never play? Get it down to twenty. Chatchkes? Only the ones that make me smile or remember a time or place or person. OK, the dozens of cat toys can stay, but not the ones they don't play with, but tht I bought to entertain them (or me). I want less. Then when I want something, I can honestly ask myself if I really want this thing in my life. I'm prepared to flood Buy Nothing for a week or two and then dump so much stuff!! I want less.

I want to protect my marriage a little more. Something happened recently that made me feel that if I open up about little problems in my marriage that they will use it against me later. That's not ideal. I want to protect my marriage and my husband and of what others think of him. My marriage is sacred and I need to practice more on treating like it is.

This year I want to expand my knowledge of the place where we live. When people think of California, images of the Central Valley seldom come to mind. We've lived here for almost twenty years and most likely will spend the rest of our lives here, exiled from the more desirable parts of the state by our income. Anyway, to answer the question, I'm investigating a volunteer opportunity at the local nature rescue preserve and live animal museum. The area is ripe with hiking trails and natural beauty a short distance away, and this next year I truly want to take advantage of every chance to experience it's rough charms. A few weeks back a group of friends and I did a short hike the Sierra Club and I may also become a member.

I wish I had a candidate that could do away with this maga nonsense. There are a number of elected officials that I like, but I haven't yet put enough energy into searching for or supporting any particular candidate. Every year I say I would like to be more politically involved, and every year there are life circumstances that seem to limit my political activism. I firmly believe in the old saw that "two wrongs don't make a right," which apparently puts me in a tricky position as a Jew (I’ve never been a Zionist and I come from a family that for the most part is not either). And, it is so hard for me as a mom to not want to send all the participants in all the current international conflicts to their room to think about the bad things they have done. I know how simplistic that sounds and is. Yet... it feels like aspiring to human decency has gone the way of the horse and buggy.

I see that I mentioned my IFS therapy every year for the last 4 years. It has been instrumental in my life, for sure. However, a couple of months ago, after almost 4 full years, I stopped seeing Allison. I started getting a little tired of the system and was getting kind of bored. I'm sure there is so much more I could do there, but I felt I needed a break. I am glad to not be doing it for the moment. In this coming year, however, I would like to build on my therapy by continuing to investigate (ie. commune with) my inner children. I would like to more fully understand who they are and how they came to be, what they're feeling, what they need, what makes them feel safe and secure and happy. Because they are me! I will do this through journaling and regular check-ins, as well as any learning on this concept I can gain through books, podcasts, etc. And I will keep my mind open to the possibility of doing more therapy, should I feel so inclined.

I want to investigate how to live more in the moment. I often assume there will always be more time -- more time to experience things, be with friends and family, achieve certain milestones -- but time is not guaranteed. What would it look like for me to not put off until years from now what could be experienced today?

Judaism. I recently discovered that 10Q is based on a Jewish tradition, which I somehow didn't realize despite participating since 2011! I've found this annual practice of reflection genuinely helpful, and it made me curious to learn more about the tradition it came from.

Based on my answer from last year, I have written the first chapter of my expose on journalism. A well established writer of books & screenplays says that, while my manuscript needs editing and revision, my outline is solid and well-researched and the chapter is substantive. He feels that the book idea is good and would sell. So on we go.

How we can change the hearts and minds of people of all creeds to care about Palestinian lives. It's gotten all too unbearable to watch them be slaughtered with my own tax dollars.

Three areas - not in any preference of order: 1. spiritual growth, 2. travel at better prices, 3. being a calm and helpful presence to people in need, especially around healing and grief.

I want to connect with serious passionate film investors. I want to find more ways to deepen human connection for the advancement and betterment of all. I want to be more politically active in a positive way.

human creativity. how we can keep it strong, unsullied, separate, honored, funded, prized . . . even if it is a necessarily-underground operation, a rebellion, I am happy to join that endeavor, that cause. I will even try to learn new things, and lean into what I already do, make a practice of creating every day. And, support artists--live music, physical pieces. And, keep working on my analogue and physical digital collection of dvds and cds and books.

I’d like to find a new health provider and place that can support diabetes and menopause

Mussar! I’ve wanted to learn the practice for years now and I want to weave a Mussar practice into my recovery work so it can feel more Jewish and less general. There’s a book I’ve picked up based on an overview and the initial explanation feels really exciting. I think the bigger answer is that the thing/person I want to investigate more fully in the coming year is ME. I can sometimes look outward a lot and feel like things are bleak or daunting or unrelatable because my piercing gaze at the world isn’t anchored to my sense of self and my own part and my own practices. I examine both (inward and outward), but I want to weave the two more intentionally, so my gaze at the world can be more rooted in the ground.

I will have to vote in this year's election, so I will have to find out about the candidates. Hopefully, I will not have to choose between my love of America and my love of Israel.

This whole rabbinic gubbins.

Same as last year, grow in my faith.

It would be nice to become more involved in being a good teacher. I want to do a better job with my single student.

I kind of want to look into Hospice volunteering and/or becoming a death doula. Am I TOO into this stuff? I have loved taking ballet, so want to do that more. I also miss pilates. Maybe I should go back to Dora's. I don't know. Things to contemplate. Plus, I always want to get more involved in Mishkan.

Hmm… surely there is. Not much comes to mind right now. Maybe continued education on borderline personality disorder and how to maintain a healthy relationship with those affected by this disorder. The knowledge I have gained so far has had a major impact in my ability to navigate my connection with my partner. I don’t want to backslide in this area.

I think some of the things that I always want to keep at the forefront are always there. Mindfulness, minimizing negative self-talk, media literacy, civil discourse...all of these are important. But in all honesty, as the line between caring about the humanity of the situation in Gaza and anti-semitism that seems so big and prevalent right now is something I want to better understand. I'm saddened that it feels like people who call themselves liberal and progressive seem to think it's okay to do what they're doing right now. At the same time, killing, hurting, destroying innocent people isn't okay. It all feels so much more nuanced than a simple slogan like "Free Palestine" makes it seem. There's so much more to it, so I think that's where I want to spend some of my study and learning time this coming year.

The window for PhD applications is now open at Cambridge, and I’m hoping I’m able to pull together a compelling Research Brief that will hook me a Supervisor. It will most definitely be along the line of sustainability in the construction sector but I’m not crystal clear about which question(s) I’m going to ask. I often wonder if I chose my career, or if my career just happened to me. Do I work in construction now (…. I mean, do I even? I always feel a bit wonky saying that out loud because I can’t then articulate what it is that I do exactly. A visiting lecturer to Cambridge during my last residential, Gerjit Singh, architect of Sentosa, could almost articulate it better than I could…. “I help big things get built”) only beside I was sitting on the bench when Tim Parr looked around the room needing someone to build our GTM, and I knew a thing or two about projects? Or because I’m here now and I have no divine inspiration about anything better (although I do miss mining to my bone marrow)? So r because I want to be? I don’t know rally know. But it seems likely that I’ll spend the next 5 years investing 100s of hours researching its greening. I know I want to study but the thing I need to truly investigate is how to take these 100’s of hours and USE them in my career.

I am searching for something, but I'm not sure what. During the Days of Awe, we're supposed to reflect and return to our best selves. But if our best selves are always changing, how are we supposed to find them? I've been taking a couple of courses--Philosophy & Happiness and Jewish Spirituality. They are helping somewhat. At least, making me reflect and be more introspective than I usually am. We'll see who emerges next year.

I am looking into the tool library in Buffalo to become a volunteer possibly. I am also thinking about our local senior center to learn what's available. I am also trying to establish some new friends for breakfast or lunch dates and more

Longevity and Contentment.

I am hungry to experience genuine interdependenct community. Where people listen and consider and then weave something together out of it that is nurtured and cherished. I am anticipating a community of care in the Confluence trip, a community of sharing in Wurrgumang and some navigating change in GEM, the Jewish Council and in my post-Nowa Nowa household. I am part of being, doing, making in all of these.

Same as last year :-( : Yes, me 😁 Looking to retire very soon, like the end of 2027 (was 2026), but I don't have a "to", only a "from". Working to improve on that, while realizing that it may just be my first project once I have time for it.

My own relationship to the legacy burden I believe most humans carry. The unique Jewish burden will be at the forefront. What I want to get from exploring, releasing and hopefully healing, is equanimity and more openness to the Divine. I want to allow this divine flow of love and creativity to flow within and express outward.

I’m blank. No one comes to mind.

My own memories. It is way past time to start writing those family stories that are in my brain. I also need to consider some of that as therapy, to completely let go of some of the hard memories so I can be completely whole, and rid of lingering regrets and anger. I truly hope when I read this next year, I will have done a lot of this.

I'm interested in finding ways that I can be more focused. Different types of meditation, maybe medication, I'm not sure. But I'd like to be more focused on whatever I'm working on.

I started working at a food pantry, and I would like to investigate food insecurity on a local level.

Choreography, dance, creation -- none of these are new! There's lots of great books on my list. I'd love to read more of Twyla's books, I think she has good advice for someone on my path. I want to have time to find more things to become invested in like that!

Definitely my long term effect from middle school, and why I care so much about what people think.

I want to read more about art and art history, so that I'm not too removed from it, now that I'm retired. I'm also considering traveling to Cambodia.

Wow, a timely question. I really want to investigate myself more in the coming year. Why do I do so much for other people? What is that really about? And why do I really not have anything that I do for FUN? So, I think I'm going to explore things that I enjoy doing, regardless of pushback or comment I get from friends or family.

We just got a new dog, so I am learning how to take care of him, understand and meet his needs. It's a lot like parenting. I hope by next year I have it figured out.

I want to knit sweaters. I have two in process, and they've been in process for over 2 years so I want to finish them. I've been collecting interesting patterns and I want to get back into knitting more challenging sweaters. I am also interested in refreshing my spanish. I have lost so much of it after moving away from the Rio Grande Valley and not having people to talk to (who would also correct me!) Need to investigate night courses and online courses. Also I want to see if this old body can still do Zumba in my living room when everyone else is at work. I guess I'm in the everything old is new again phase.

I'd like to be able to understand my place in the Universe more. I didn't achieve my answer from last year, but I hope to be able to do so this year.

Just finished Dara Horn's book, The Final Solution to the Jewish Question. It outlines how to teach about Judaism being pretty dang awesome. That's what I to do. Among other things.

I want to investigate ways to make some money in ways other than clinical medicine. Etsy, blogging, medical reviewing, advice for start ups, writing. All of these are possible avenues.

I want to pursue my interest in practicing and teaching the art of spiritual inquiry.

Acher, clown, donkeys, music, more lovers.

Honestly, I can't think of anything or anyone in particular. Most days I am running at full mental load, and the idea of adding more, or being inquisitive about something new feels overwhelming and unattractive. Hopefully, this phase of business and learning will morph into something more manageable!

Need to keep my brain learning, so I can assisting non-profits board development and strategic planning and taking classes in history,finance and budget, art crafts, and theatre, gardening and develop the Mount Baker Community Cub offerings for the communities along with salons for artists and authors and short theatre with six actors and teach Whats Cooking Mount Baker, Leftover. Gourmet and Art Gallery.

Want to? Not exactly. But if I'm going to keep up this writing letters to my representatives in Congress as close to every day as I can manage, I must study politics more thoroughly.

I want to know more about the history of the synagogue, collect and organize photos and stories and archival iformation. I want to organize it and store it properly.

I love reading, walking, traveling, listening to live music, learning new things, meeting new people, but there is no specific something that I am particularly pursuing at this time.

How to authentically be myself . balancing / exploring if the person i want to be is just the person i want other people to see me as?

I think I want to keep investigating my own spiritual life. I want to learn more liturgy, become a more confident leader of prayer. I really want to gain musical literacy, become a more confident reader of music and singer as well. They go hand in hand. I want to continue to make space in my day for contemplation, connection, deep thinking, reverence.

Talmud and mishnah

I want to investigate going back to scchool for a career change, I feel I've said this in past years, but as I get older and my industry shrinks it becomes more important to do so. Its time to start the journey to being a therapist

Something I want to investigate and explore more fully in the coming year is my Judaism and the history of Israel and the region. I have spent the past year becoming more intentional about my Jewish journey, and I want to continue building on that by learning more about my faith, traditions, culture, and history. I also want to deepen my understanding of Israel not just its modern history, but the broader history of the land and the region and how it has shaped the Jewish people. The more I learn, the more I realize there is still so much I don’t know. I want to continue educating myself so that I can better understand the complexities of the region, speak about Israel accurately, and thoughtfully respond when I hear misinformation or false claims. Most importantly, I want my learning to strengthen my connection to Judaism and Israel. I don’t want to stop at simply knowing that I am a proud Jew and Zionist; I want to understand more deeply the history and traditions that have shaped who I am.

I want to figure out my next step. I have been working part-time at the same job for several years, and it is getting old. I still want to work but am not sure in what field or in what capacity or where. By next year, I’d like to be clear about those things and to have started taking action to move in that new direction.

Not sure, im tired from this pregnancy

Which people, locations, and activities consistently will bring me a sense of peaceful, joyful vibrancy?

Yes, it is me and my life. Because I am getting older and I want to understand better who am I

Peace in Palestine. Teen behavioral issues whether I like it or not.

I want to investigate myself. I’ve fallen into a slump the last few years of getting inspired by books, movies, ideas… and then not further exploring. I want to read more of my non fiction books and feel that brain tingle that comes with learning and exploration and deep dives. I was really good setting a “syllabus” for myself reading the Iliad and odyssey this year and adding complimentary texts. I was so invigorated! I want to do this more next year.

I want to investigate the idea of reinvention more fully—not the glossy version where you quit your job, move to Italy and suddenly become a completely different person, but the quieter kind that happens when you keep allowing yourself to become interested in new things. I’m curious about what happens when we deliberately make room for creativity, friendship, learning and adventure, even when our lives are already fairly established. I’m especially interested in how curiosity can keep expanding a life rather than simply helping us prepare for the next stage of it.

I'd like to investigste Mary Oliver's life and poetry more (and find more inspiration in nature myself.) I also want this to be the year I really do start an adult Bat Mitzvah study! I want to make Judaism a source of solace and joy, not just for myself, but for Jules as well, and learn in religious school along with him. Also, I want to start regularly doing Havdalah and the grace after meals

Not sure, maybe.

I need to trust myself and not compare . I need to know what at my intuition is saying and to recognize triggers

Two areas I can think of. I am finding myself more and more interested in history. I have a Jill Lepore book I want to read. I also want to sink in more to the practice of coaching. I want to do this in a relaxed way, not in an anxious need to be good enough way.

Ella Shahat, Sephardim of Sweden, left ideology that embraces Zionism or any existence of Israel

I want to help the homeless people through our Street Medicine outreach.

How to live fully in the time I have left on earth. It's sort of cliched by now, but I keep hearing Mary Oliver's words: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Meaning

I may join a dating app. As you can see, I didn’t follow through with last year’s thoughts about dating apps. I have played around with Facebook dating. I don’t know. There’s also perhaps, groups for Creatives, dinner with strangers, Legare is a games group. Playing Mahjong, so look into that more. Definitely pushing on with the poetry. It would be nice to travel again, but I need to figure out where I really wanna go. I wanna try teaching online, or teaching English overseas. Maybe even try to meet Koreans? Oh yeah, and I might be in a Noona’s Noonchi co-coordinator for a Houston chapter.

No

I want to fully get myself healthy in every way possible.

Pulmonary physiology. Had lung cancer and have copd.

Moms demand action for gun sense in America. I hope to join with them. Secondly, I hope to contact some families who lost a loved one in a parachuting accident just to share stories and support one another. Skydiving is not regulated in the U.S. and it really needs to be. We miss our daughter.

The two from last year are still relevant and of interest--Reconciliation in Canada and the crisis in Israel/Palestine. I continued to learn about these two issues over the past year, but haven't engaged in one sustained project for either. At this moment, the Israeli/Palestinian issue feels more urgent. Seeking some kind of helpful perspective on this, lately, I've been thinking about the Jewish wars of the Roman era, the uncomfortable brutality of the conflict between Jewish factions during these rebellions, and, finally, a rekindled interest in the personal story of Flavius Josephus--someone who, when I was much younger, I'd written off as a self-serving traitor to his people who facilitated one of the worst disasters of our people and, in writing his histories of us, did so with a condescendingly negative bias. Now I'm just more curious about the person at the heart of what I think of as an alarmingly similar period of Jewish fear, anger, violence, zealotry, and intolerance that had disastrous consequences (for sure!), yet was not, by any means, an annihilation.

Yes! I want to dig deeper (!) into gardening, specifically native plants. Call it pre-retirement planning - I find myself gravitating more and more toward gardening with native plants, the more I read things like Braiding Sweetgrass and The Comfort of Crows. It's such a rich field (!) to explore, and I really could find myself embracing this as a spiritual, meditative process. I say pre-retirement because I am starting to contemplate what I'll do in retirement, and have already realized taking classes/learning more about native plants is something that speaks to me. In the coming year, as we finalize our new backyard landscape, we'll have the perfect opportunity to start down this path, learn what we can, and begin to be more responsible creatures within our wildlife habitat.

I want to become more sexually open and free with my wife and myself and not be constrained by shame and guilt. I also want that I’m more intentional life and enjoy my taste more without guilt or shame or sense of constant obligation.

I'd love to see the US get back its democracy. I'd like to see the current administration abolished and replaced--everyone who has been complicit in making this an oligarchy.

I want to explore more learning opportunities in the coming year. I will be taking a class this fall in a subject area that is completely new to me, and I would like to continue to challenge myself with different types of educational efforts going forward.

Continue with 929 project with R. Alex Israel. Try to understand Hasidism by studying some of the Tanya with R. Paul Strasko. Try to get a better understanding of my own health and fitness and what it means.

I'm planning to investigate the new "WoW Forever" video game in the coming year!

I’ve signed up for a support group for care givers, and I friend just directed me to a national network.

I need to learn more about the Democratic candidates in my region.

I would like to be in a position to contribute to an effort to raise awareness and overcome the inaccessibility of life-improving therapies & drugs to persons with disabilities.

I’d like to see about volunteering at the Gmach. I like what they do and want to support it. Plus it was fun the twice I did it. If not there, then somewhere. I’d also like to reestablish my friendship with Sima. And start one with Claire Gelfman. And reconnect with old friends like Anna and Judith and Carolyn and Ellen.

Antizionism, bell hooks, effective organizing. I feel like I know a little about things I want to know a lot about. Like I can think things to myself or talk to my close friends but can't have the more difficult conversations. I want to make sure I'm pushing for change, I'm doing it the right way. I don't want to back down because I'm afraid or confused .

I want to investigate dating and playwriting more fully.

I hope to make contacts with lawmakers to put FASD on the radar for IL.

The Change and how I can apply it.

A search for inner peace about where I am in my life journey. I often scan the night skies, wondering if there is some message for me to perceive up there.

Making money doing something I love. Feeling healthy, truly happy, and being number ONE!

I want to read more of Anita Diamant’s books, fiction and nonfiction. I also want to learn to use the special nibs and pens to write Hebrew calligraphy in an artistic way.

I want to continue learning tambour embroidery. I completed a level 1 course this year and want to move on to level 2. It’s challenging yet relaxing at the same time.

Nichiren Buddhism

I just want to be in plays.

I've always had an aversion to math, and now I want to pursue getting better at it. Trigonometry, Geometry, Algebra, Fractions. It's all so I can learn to be a good machinist some day soon.

Tarot! I've dabbled a bunch, but it would be fun to actually study it and start getting to know the cards without needing to use the little guidebooks included with each deck.

Maybe doing a separate podcast - a call-in advice show or one on a particular movie. I'm also still studying Buddhism so I'd like to continue with that.

No. I want to know less.

I want to investigate or be curious about dating. I guess that’s more of a concept or a action. I’m not really sure. I just wanna be open to whatever the universe has in store for me relationship wise. I really wanna encourage myself to be open to Love in whatever form it comes in.

Rights of nature and more-than-human beings.

Continue work, deepen into the work of transcribing and writing from my dharma journals, exploring how that can express itself in both writing and visual art.

Peace. I want peace and tranquility in my life and on earth. FREE PALESTINE!

Being/living on my own!

I want to investigate my feelings more. Coming to the end of this year, I am regulating and giving myself space from the intense emotional reactions that used to be my norm. I am interested in exploring what it means to potentially feel less because I trust my feelings, but they may not need to be as intense as my body immediately defaults to.

I want to dive into mussar a bit more, both for my own personal practice and also as something to introduce my students to.

OHHH Well! I did want to pursue a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, however, a second Masters in the same subject isn't a bad deal either! I have written papers that I really did not think I could do- yes I have some help in assisting me with format, grammatical stuff. But the actual thinking.. and overthinking :-) has really led me to this pursuit of this subject that I really didNOT think I could do! And I am! I mean, holding on to a 94, an honor society, God has blessed me and is STILL Blessing me to be able to do this! And the possibilities of publishing papers, setting up a site to other catechists. Yes, I am still on the search for a job, cannot get into the type of apartment I want so I am still here, awaiting public housing .. working on that angle. But YES< Religious Studies, YES! And for me to put in for a Graduate Assistant position for the university, HYBRID, I mean... I have the experience, probably "drive" my professor CRAZY :-) but he knows me, seen my writing... probability? So, in the coming year, I may be in that position or in another position. Only God knows! And I THANK HIM!

Yes, I want to explore the idea of writing at least once a week. How will this change my outlook, will I need a prompt or will ideas come to me? Can it be a mechanism to reduce my stress?

No, I can't think of anything at this moment. I'm at a really good place in my life and feel very content. I love learning things and am generally curious, but cannot think of one specific thing.

Study the various charities that Naples area has been helped by "grants" given by me over the past years. THEN, decide which can use and valid further help.

Antisemitism and how to call it out calmly and matter of factly and how to prepare my daughter to do the same.

maybe a partner? making/designing things, curating...

The same as last year since I did not get around to doing. Ask the bishop to establish an ICKSP parish in the diocese.

Becoming a Death Doula was last year's entry. And I didn't do that. But I can investigate becoming a hospice volunteer. No person leaps to mind, no cause or idea. Although this idea does interest me: at 70, why is my first thought a negative one? Issues of self-esteem, self-talk. Learn to be more positive in my self-talk. Confront what is hard-wired in human brains: to see the lion in the savannah; don't linger on the happy zebras drinking at the beautiful water-spot. Trying to change not jut hard-wired basic nature, but those negative lessons I received as I grew up...

For my own personal use of time for life activities, I want to better understand the value of vacation time vs. work/home time. Are vacations just a waste of time and money in which most of the time I will be uncomfortable because I don't have my stuff, my environment and control of what I do and control of things around me. Or do vacations actually have some mental benefits of clearing narrow channels of thought to embrace a broader viewpoint. Am I better or worse after a 1-week vacation?

I'd like to continue investigating the concept of personhood, identity, sense of self.

My Christian faith

Still single, so I would like to explore a relationship with whoever I'm supposed to end up with. I don't know where she is, but I'm still trying to find her, lol. It's kind of funny I'm talking to Sally again. I never stopped thinking about her from our dates in Charlotte. She had an alcohol problem at that time and then ended up pregnant and married to someone else. It is seriously a long-shot with her being in Melbourne, but who knows...maybe that's how I end up in Australia? I absolutely loved it there when I visited, perhaps it could actually be my home one day.

Me. I’m the person I need to investigate. After my husband’s death, I don’t know who I am anymore. For the first time in my life, I don’t need to care for anyone but me. This year will be about figuring out who ‘me’ is and what kind of life ‘me’ wants to live.

I want to find a whole new piano player to accompany me as I put together a one-woman show about Hollywood song dubbers. Oh, and find a publisher for my book. Phew. That was hard to type.

I’d like to investigate alternatives to cross fit as I’m not thinking to continue after my current package runs out. It was fun trying F45 with George the other day but I’m open to other ideas too. Career wise, the biggest idea is starting my own business. I’ve been procrastinating the research and chat gpt ing because it’s hard for me really to believe in it. Even if I don’t end up starting it, I am thinking that continuing to research and maybe launch a pilot will be fulfilling and worthwhile. It’s also a back up plan of sorts if things don’t work out on the job market. I’m considering joining start me as a mentee.

Is it wrong to say no? I just want to keep the wheels on the bus.

The course in Tibetan logic and debate didn't work for me last year (schedulewise). I hope my intention to study philosophy will be more grounded and I'll be able to make time for it between my family and service duties.

I'm enjoying learning about printmaking. And, I want to do more research about causes and organizations I support so I have confidence my donations are being maximized.

I would like to get back to writing. It's been too long, I would love to see what I can come up with and how deep I'm able to go.

How can I help combat the growing antisemitism in the world? I never thought I'd be afraid to be a Jew in the USA but here we are

Years pass and I never keep what I put here. Maybe guitar music...

Why husbands cheat

Dance and movement

Painting, supporting our life as a family with calm spirits and boundaries

Narrative--What do I want people to know about me

Celtic spirituality.

Not to sound conceited or full of myself, but at 75 I wish to spend the rest of my life improving myself in all ways possible and to continue to learn, the water that nourishes life.

I don't quite know if this is a cause or an idea, but my investigation, if we can call it that, would be to try to live more simply. For almost the entirety of this year, I have been in the hospital. I have an infected hip that has lost its hip socket and has required lots of antibiotics and surgeries. I am getting better, but it has been a slow, long climb to health. Being disconncted from much of the noise of my life during this season has made me shift my priorities a bit. Perhaps I have realized that I have spent too much time worrying about impressing other people. Instead of worrying about my appearance, I'm in a hospital gown without makeup. Instead of worrying about impressing people, I've been just surviving. This illness has surely aged me. It has also given me the perspective of a somewhat older person. I realize that I have expended energy on catering to the good opinion of other people who probably don't think about my wardrobe, my cosmetics, and my hair nearly as much as I supposed they might. Right now, I don't crave the good opinion of strangers quite as much as I once did. Right now, what I crave is the ability to walk again, to sit on a couch and pet a dog, to make a meal in my own kitchen. I want to investigate the things that might provide me peace in a world that is too much at war and on fire. The Tanakh translation of Isaiah says: "The confident mind You guard in safety, in safety because it trusts in You." I have had to trust the Almighty in this season with all of my concerns. In doing so, I could see the emptiness of some of my efforts to be impressive. That's simply not productive. An authentic and peaceful life need not have a lot of buttons and bows on it to be filled with truth. I seek fewer frills, more authenticity in the coming year.

Nothing jumps out perfectly here. Last year I talked about stepping into new frontiers, but that didn't really happen since Orlando didn't come together on the timeline we thought. Traveling with MG this year was still cool though. I also said I wanted to get into wine, and I did more with that than I expected, not to any real expertise, but more than nothing. If I'm honest, what I actually want to investigate is what I'm passionate about, something I can wake up excited to do rather than doing it for other people or just going through the motions. I don't think that has to exist every single day, but there has to be more than just what I'm dealing with right now.

Yes, me! I want to reacquaint myself with who I am and what I want and need. I want to read, write, create, explore, dream, heal, recover, and reclaim.

I'd like to finish the Bible in a Year study plan. I finally made it to day 72, and it's only taken me 6 months!

I want to investigate more fully my zest for creativity. I LOVE taking craft classes and I want to explore more by taking more time to be creative as an outlet, use the downstairs desk more. All without the goal of a beautiful final product.

Just more art really

No. I'm too tired. Just day to day survival is all I want to manage.

Myself! Doing what I want. Learning music, printmaking, writing, photography. Just me. Me, me, me! And National Parks. I want to visit more. I want to be a park ranger!

I want to look more into helping 4H and 4H alumni organizations and conservative organizations.

Just happiness, and how to learn it in spite of all I've experienced.

This is what I said last year and it sticks! Really more of the same as last year-- focus on small things and be more present. Find joy in the small moments.

9/18/26: An excellent question for which I once again feel like I don't have the most satisfactory or clever answer. Last year when this question rolled around, Speaker Mike Johnson effectively shut the government down in a transparent effort to try and protect Trump from the release of the Epstein files (which incidentally STILL have not been fully released, which is in violation of the law that eventually was passed, despite Johnson)...and right now, Johnson has shut the House down AGAIN in order to shield Secretary Hegseth from an impeachment vote! And somehow, Johnson apparently has the power to keep the House closed until after the midterms?!? I don't know how the Speaker of the House has such power, but when the Democrats hopefully take Congress back this November (please G-d), they need to pass a law revoking such outrageous privilege from whoever the Speaker is forevermore in the future. One person alone should not have the authority to cripple our government so outright. It's absolutely insane! ...but anyways, to answer your question: I really don't know.

Three years running, it’s the same answer: I just want to do what I said last year: Keep stumbling through my life with some degree of contentment and joy.

Free Palestine

Rambam…and Mussar? James Baldwin AI, and how to control it How to save our democracy Duke Libraries

This year I want to focus on bodyweight strength and animal movement as well as kettlebell swings and get ups. Writing wise, I want to focus on lack of judgement, not looking to everyone to teach me how to write something, not imagining that everyone knows everything, just good solid dramaturgy like the stuff we discussed in the Tectonic Workshop.

Flossing. 2027 is going to be the year I master flossing my teeth. I can feel it.

I want to learn more about creative writing.

I really to discover more of how I am meant to be and just be healed.

while I am still committed to doing more work in public discourse, in some ways this year I really feelis even more of a dumpster fire. I feel like I want to be invl=olved in helping protect the future. Maybe get involved in politics - but I don't want to step on Ezra's toes. I just feel like we have a fight on our hands and not sure how to take his on. Sometimes I feel like it has to come out of the regular structures. Like an ACT UP for the planet. Not just climate either - but the overly corporatization of things. The fact that everything we said would happen in the 90s has come true!!! So maybe - working with young people - getting them galvanized (they are) but creating films, tik toks, make it cool kind of thing to chnage the public discourse!

I’d like to look into investigating the possibility of learning American sign language and taking some kind of course in script writing - although I'm pretty sure I won't be doing either!

The easiest response to this question is a simple no. But, that resonates as a cop out . Perhaps it's 'too simple' because what I really want to to is 'too broad to narrow down. I want to develop relationships to ease the isolation that in someways I've always felt, more so during the past 3-6 years since the deaths of my parents, my beloved dachshund, and the pandemic. I know I have friends, I know I have family. so why do I fall into periods when I feel so isolated? I want to get out of the echo chamber of superficial connection of social media. Face it, it hasn't evolved into as much connection as I once had hoped. Plus, it isn't as interesting or enjoyable as it seems. Did it ever? I hate feeling stuck at home . the complications caused by even more limited mobility due to the combination of age, Cerebral Palsy, and lymphedema IS debilitating. BUT, I MUST NOT give in! How will I hold myself accountable when I encounter this question again next year?

I'd like to clarify and deepen my understanding of my prophetic voice. Am I called simply to speak clearly my observation (and possible analysis) of local, national and global events, trends and zeitgeist? Or am I called to provide direction, calls to specific action?

I’ve been exploring some hand crafts this year, so that I am doing less on the computer. I have some potential projects for the colder months, and I hope to execute them. If I like the art, I’ll do more; if not, I’ll look for other fun things to do.

I would very much like to explore the conditions my dreams often put me in. Of being surrounded by camaraderie and celebration, of traveling without agenda, of laughter and feasting, and a sense of the spontaneous. Play and generosity both received and given.

How to ensure Trump and the MAGA movement is defanged and gone!

I’ve been considering starting a commonplace journal too. I like the idea of having a journal that is made to just be an encyclopedia of whatever interests me. I’m thinking about sections like quotes, vocabulary, research, reviews, ideas, writing, and misc. Maybe one more? I’m not sure.

If you had told me, even two days ago, that I'd be going down to the Kennedy Center this evening to form a human chain around the building to protest its demolition, I wouldn't have believed you. But here we are!

I would say speaking up for Israel but that doesn't even seem to help. Right now, we are in the middle of this Macklemore bullshit. I unfollowed someone I really like this morning over it. And I know probably most gentiles I know agree with this person. The cease fire has mostly held and we are still having to deal with this shit. I don't have a particular thing I am going to plan to investigate this year. I did become an adult bat mitzvah and keep up with my kabbalah emails, so I accomplished last year's investigations, except for getting a new job. I have the same sometimes crummy job. I want to stay open and in the flow this year.

Yes it's called RETIREMENT. Or if you hate that term NOT WORKING FOR ANYONE BUT MYSELF ANY LONGER.

Yes, I want to look into volunteer work and try to get involved in singing in a community choir. I also want to work, in the near term, on defeating Republican candidates, so that the attack on Iran ceases. And maybe there will be an impeachment and removal; that would be nice.

Indigenous pedagogies, slow learning. I want to move into this phase of my life with purpose and care. (I still need to read more Terry Pratchett, who was my answer last year!)

How do I become a better steward of the traditions and lineages I received and how does it move through me and my teachings?

I think in general I want to see how far I can go. How much I can push myself and learn. I really want to see where limitations truly are and where they lie.

Hopefully a home Church and maybe something else to get me out of the house and make friends.

Last year, I'd said I wanted to learn more about meditation but didn't do so, so this year I'd like to do that.

Polylinguists, I want to be able to speak multiple languages

Well, since there is a new person now in the world I want to get to know, my granddaughter, I would like to learn as much as I can about her, and about child development generally.

I want to better understand the ballot issues on the Nov ballot better.

Things I am curious about right now: Civil Rights law practices/lawyers Speculative fiction - reading and writing Fiber Art in Galleries, on-line, in auctions Selecting new music, time with my piano Being outside. At home and new places.

Growing closer to Father God and really feeling a profound sense of love and acceptance from Him, also stepping more fully into my identity as His son and heir, being a kingdom builder

Trauma and understanding it and healing from it. More Bob Dylan study More drums

I want to elevate myself and become more confident, secure, and positive. I want to increase my skill sets and hobbies. Play piano and improve my farsi and Spanish

Doing one thing at a time

What matters most now is care. How shall we lovingly be present with one another during this time of great transition? Shall our souls shine? Shall we be remembered as the ones who succeeded in enshrouding the planet within the Great Cosmic Philosphere? I pray it may be so! Gaiåcracy rising!

I’d like to investigate the idea of living abroad. As I’ve mentioned that I don’t see myself living in NYC by the time that I reach my later years.