“The Decade of Tending”

View of the Lake, Nov. 2010
Oh, what a difference a decade can make. I still remember waking to this ethereal view of Lake Quinault on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula my first morning back in the states following five months at Maher in India.
Nov. 2010.

I can’t exactly recall when I began the practice of “naming the year” but there have been many names over many years. This past December, when I sat quietly waiting for what might come, I was surprised when The Decade of Tending” rose.

It never occurred to me to name an entire decade. And, yet, important things take time. Trees grow slowly. Lives unfold. Musicians practice.

And then there’s the topic of “tending.” It’s a word I’m drawn to and one that I never defined precisely. According to an online source known as The Collins COBUILD Dictionary, tending means “to care for” and “nourish.” That resonates with my EXPERIENCES of tending and being tended.

I claim no tending expertise and look forward to learning and living into what “tending” means in the coming year and beyond. Tending myself, my loved ones, my communities, the work, past-times and travel I engage in, and our Planet does seem, however, to be a positively splendid and worthy way to spend a decade.

With gratitude,

Sherry