There are so many sayings about time… time heals all wounds; time flies; time is the longest distance between two places. As I sit here behind my laptop at the end of 2014, I’m inclined to believe that time is neither friend nor foe. On its own, time doesn’t promise anything. Time doesn’t promise a return on investment, only work does. Only effort, focus, and work promise an outcome, not just time passing with each ticktock on the clock. 2013 was the year of the dissertation and 2014 was the year of recuperation. Although necessary, in retrospect it is also abundantly clear that time alone doesn’t heal – recuperation too is a work in progress. But as I head into 2015, I’m hopeful because I think I’ve learned some valuable lessons. Time passes but that fact alone doesn’t get the job done. I can use time wisely but I can also use time poorly; it’s not random, it’s a choice. I need to listen to my mind and my body and rest when I need it but recuperation is an activity of sorts – that’s not to say that rest shouldn’t be just that, restful. But there is resting and then there is wasting a bunch of time and not getting any actual rest and rejuvenation.

I actually haven’t been to many ballet classes in 2014. I’ve enjoyed watching much more than dancing. I’ve stepped back a lot. But it was also a good year in terms of reaching out to more ballet friends. Learning more about dance in general. And here and there, when I wasn’t just wasting time, I did rest my body and my soul.

So I welcome 2015 and I wonder… 2015, the year of ??? Will it be the year of using time wisely? Will it be the year of dance? Will it be the year of fitting into my skinny jeans? Will it be the year of meeting more of my virtual ballet buddies? Will it be the year of blogging? What will 2015 bring? Maybe a bit of everything, maybe even more than I can imagine.