Where the Magic Begins…

“We need the tonic of wildness…we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable,

that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us.

We can never have enough of nature.”

                                  -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Together, we welcome the dawn of a new year! I hope this time finds you and yours healthy and content. A special “thank you” to all of you who shared my journey of the Advent Calendar Doors of Nature during December. I so appreciated all your thoughts and comments.

Looking back on this past year, I did my best to focus on my word and my mantra for 2025. My word was PEACE and my mantra was, “To risk being fully alive, in 2025.” Every day in my journal I wrote both of these down after my morning reflections. I underlined the word “risk” twice to keep this part of my mantra front and center.

I sought out physical activities that challenged me, like a 4-day, 43-mile hike in Vermont in May and biking and hiking at Acadia National Park in Maine. I tested my stamina on longer bike rides this summer in the Northwoods at Bike Fest events to support the expansion and maintenance of our fabulous bike trails. I also found the challenge to “risk” in my connections and relationships with other people. To take the risk to speak what was on my heart. To take the risk to “step into the arena” of uncomfortable circumstances with courage and vulnerability. The physical “risks” were great fun and the emotional ones were difficult, and both offered opportunities for growth. I tried to live the quote I shared last year from Terry Tempest Williams book, Refuge. “I believe in facing life directly, to not be afraid of risking oneself for fear of losing too much.”

As I reflect back on the word PEACE, I felt how peace filled my heart as I took the risk to live more authentically. I learned that peace comes from surrender, from trusting the journey even when I don’t understand it. And especially when I have no idea where it is leading me. Being truthful to myself along the way brought me a deeper level of peace and contentment. It was an interesting connection, peace and risk, and one I would not have expected. That for me, is the fun of the word and the mantra every year. I never know where they will lead me. And yet, in December, I found I was underlining the word “risk” in my journal with more emphasis. With it came a sadness, a feeling that maybe I had not risked enough this past year. That maybe there was more for me to learn, more challenges, more for me to “become.” It’s an emptiness that has stayed with me. As I navigate 2026, risk will still be one of my beacons, like the beams from a lighthouse, keeping me on course and intermittently showing me the way. I had the wonderful opportunity to stay at this Little River Lighthouse in Cutler, Maine, last year for my 70th birthday. It was a magical experience.

For a number of years now, I have been searching for what I have called “the next” in my life…. the next opportunity to serve in a meaningful way. Something larger than myself to stir me to compassionate action. I have been on a journey, exploring new possibilities and learning. To that point, I took a grief training course in March offered by Francis Weller, the author of the Wild Edge of Sorrow. I am now immersed in a 5-month learning community with the BTS Center in Portland, Maine, called “Navigating Climate Spiritual Care.” I am searching for deeper connection and confident a new passion will find me. I will know it when I feel it.

Although my BIG thing has not yet found me, I try to continually bring meaning and value by what I call “serving in the moment.” Recognizing a need right in front of me and acting on it. I have also discovered something about service. When you go above and beyond in the slightest way, it creates a magical experience for the other person and ultimately for you. It works beyond our expectations in a realm that delights us with an element of surprise. I call it Service Plus, or Service+ for short. And that is my “next” right now. We all have a need to feel valued and appreciated. To know that we are seen. And we can all help each other feel this way by doing things “a tinch better,” as my Dad would say. And even if or when a BIG thing comes along, serving in the moment will always be a part of my life.

So, my phrase for the new year is, “Service+ is in the mix, for 2026.” It will continue to encourage me to go beyond what is adequate to create an unforgettable feeling for someone. It will remind me to look for opportunities every day because people will share a memorable story, and that will create more possibilities for Service+ from more people. It will be a G-I-F-T – Give It Forward Today!

My word: MAGICAL! Magical experiences evoke a sense of wonder and awe, like a beautiful sunrise, or a magical night out that exceeds our expectations. Magical moments are created on the edge of our comfort zone, where we go beyond our usual M.O. to create something unexpected and uplifting for someone, including ourselves. Even when I say the word I smile at the possibility of transcending the ordinary. To sprinkle a little magic dust every day. One moment, one person at a time. And the magic is, we can all do Service+!

I invite you to the edge of your comfort zone this year, where magical moments await! Keep paddlin’ on…magically…

Mar, marsmrz@comcast.net, redkayak.nwd.host, (to sign up for my irregular and inconsistent newsletter)