Radically Imagine what the New Year will bring

As the New Year approaches it seems this is the time to think about all of the possibility that lies ahead of us.  Resolutions will be bandied about with the hopes that they will be accomplished; promises to go to the gym, give up sugar, or be better about their dependence on caffeine (FYI,  I am doing none of these things.  That is my resolution, so that you already win by not dealing with me trying to do any of those things.  You’re welcome).Instead I like to think about a phase or a sentence that I want as a broad theme for my year.  I think the best type is something that is broad enough to encompass all manner of adventures but specific enough that it is a good reminder.  It's trying to live within an intention.Since 2016 has seemed to be a year that tried to kill all major figures ion my childhood, I want to live with a positive intention as we move into 2017.So I’ve decided that means this is the year that I will Radically ImagineI’ll look for opportunities to drastically, thoroughly, and profoundly envision something and try to act on it.  I will celebrate and nurture those people that are doing this in their lives, their work, and their art.I radically imagine a year where we don’t let the anchors of the last year bring the New Year down with it.I radically imagine a world where being kind is not revolutionary.  Where we try to be nice and think of others in our gestures, no matter how big or small they may be.I also radically imagine all the new and creative ways arts can reach out to people and provoke change.This week, I admit, seems particularly brutal and the loss of Carrie Fischer and Debbie Reynolds has hit me particularly hard. I loved them both for vastly different reasons.  These wonderful women were talented performers; but they were more than the princess in the gold bikini and the woman who was “America’s Sweetheart.”  Carrie was an amazing writer, comic, script doctor, and a fierce mental health advocate.  Debbie was a talented woman who supported many social causes, the curated and preserved the history of the entertainment industry and Old Hollywood, and worked to support mental health issues.  They were both dedicated to being what they wanted to be, regardless of what boundaries the world wanted them to keep inside.If there is one thing this year has taught us it is that life is too short.  Radically imagine and ask yourself - who do you want to be or what you want to see in the world?Now go do that