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I love beginnings. I love the dawn, the time of day when the sun's rays first touch the Earth and burst through your windows in celebration of all that sparkles with the expectation of a new day. I love starting new projects, meeting new people, traveling to new places, trying new food and fashion, discovering new music and art.
And I love celebrating the coming of each New Year. We get to renew, rejuvenate, reinvent. Even better when you can start the year in a new place with new friends.
For me, this isn't the first time in Colombia. But every time I come here, there is always something new, something surprising, and yes frustrating and incredible too. Ever read any of Gabriel García Marquez's stories? If you have, you've gotten a little taste of "Locombia". The world's most gorgeous country has been soaking into my bones for years, and that can only mean one thing: sooner or later its indomitable quirkiness will surface somewhere in my stories. (I have a feeling it will be sooner than later...)
This New Year I'm celebrating in the savannah, far away from cities. Here the rivers are still ancient, the stars still unpolluted by a massive electric grid, the wildlife still wild. But even here the relentless pounding of progress has begun, and as I write this, a day before we travel, my heart pauses in somber expectation of how many more roads have been built down there and how much more oil has been torn from the earth.
To all of you reading this New Year's edition of "The Muse," do something a little different this time. Forget all the typical New Year's resolutions. Make your New Year's celebration truly new, truly unique. What does that look like? It's up to you, and that's the best part. If you want to start a company, do it. If you want to save the planet, do something that's realistic and achievable for you, no matter how small. Whatever you choose to do, pick ONE thing and do it ridiculously well. Be wild, be daring, even if just in the stomping grounds of your imagination. After all, that's where everything "new" is always born.
Let's raise our glasses to a truly new New Year.
~ Birgitte
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Well, December 21 has come and gone, and very peacefully so in most parts of the world. Our Mayan Calendar Portal Facebook page absolutely exploded (we gained about 2,000 new fans). Imagine that some people were actually angry that nothing happened—and that they were panicked for no reason. Apparently the disappointment of the world not ending was too much for some.
Personally, I'm glad we are now past this date that has generated so much stress and so much anxiety. I'm sure there will be other "doomsday" prophecies surfacing soon enough, but this was a biggie! And it won't come around for another 5,125 years, thankfully.
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I've been soaking in Colombian life for the past 3 weeks, and it only feels like I'm just getting started. Since arriving early in December, we've been to the Caribbean islands of San Andrés and Providencia (read my blog post about it here) and all over Bogotá.
Christmastime here is nothing short of magical: office buildings, commercial centers and residences alike are alight in some of the most stunning light displays you've ever seen. And done with such class and style, too. Of course, the usually congested roads now groan with double their weight in cars, and it's nearly impossible to move around—unless you know your way around the back roads.
This is also one of the most social cultures in the world, where people work to live, not the other way around. Cafes, restaurants, and the streets are alive and kicking at virtually all hours. And this despite the underlying crime and danger that lurks at nearly every street corner. So as long as you keep your eyes open, your profile ultra local, and your laptop and cellphone hidden well out of sight in public, you'll be able to enjoy this vibrant city to its fullest.
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JANUARY 2013
January is dedicated to traveling within Colombia and working on my next two works—one is a short story that explores what it means to be a true visionary, the other is a psychological thriller involving a high-level diplomat, two mysterious strangers, and the Parisian metro.
I plan on releasing them this year so stay tuned...!
FEBRUARY 2013
February 21, 12:15 - 1pm.
"The Maya in All of Us: Living in Sacred Time"
Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), Stanford University.
The title says it all—the Maya live in harmony with the natural cycles of time and nature; there's more than a little we in the West can learn from that. I'm honored to have been invited to speak at CLAS. It's a long way since my undergrad years attending cultural meetings in that same building — even before I spoke Spanish.
This event is open to the public.
February 28, 9 – 11am.
"The Sanctity of Time: Why Modern Society Needs the Ancient Tzolk'in"
Divine Science Community Center, San Jose, California.
I'll be spending the morning of Feb. 28 talking about our most precious commodity—our time.
This event is open to the public but an RSVP is strongly recommended: contact the Divine Science Center with your name and contact information.
For more on my talks and presentations, visit my author's site.
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