Wideness and Wonder of the World

Happy New Year, Everybody!

I hope the holidays have treated each of you as well as they treated me.

And now comes the customary reflection on the year that was, followed by a look into the year now unfolding.

2012 was a year of learning, in what will be a lifetime of learning. I learned a lot about how to live in and appreciate my Montana home, how to adapt to this lifestyle, for which I was completely unprepared, but nevertheless carried by my curiosity.  I am quite certain this will be a lifelong occupation.

We had it pretty good in 2012, in every sense.  Personal, familial, career success abounded. In light of tragedies in the latter months of the year on a national scale, the year of the Sandies: two hurricanes of very different nature, our successes, joys, and triumphs, no matter how simple, seem even more significant. A good harvest. Strengthened relationships with friends and family. Personal growth. Each give great cause to be thankful and happy.

All of this was on my mind as I literally turned the page on 2013 by flipping to the first page of my Page-A-Day calendar.  The subject of my calendar this year is "1,000 Places to See Before You Die," or, as I like to call it, "Katie's New Travel List." Jeff always teases me that there are so few places I would not travel to, if given the opportunity.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 featured a place called Chimney Rock, located in Ghost Ranch, NM, USA.  The locale has been the subject of and inspiration for Georgia O'Keefe works. The American painter spent time in this area she was so inspired by, praising it as "the wideness and wonder of the world as I live in it."

Image source: www.lonelyplanet.com
Open landscape from the Ghost Ranch area.

O'Keefe's quote reminded me of my home on the northern Montana prairie.  The January 2 quote in my calendar by American Poet Richard Wilbur was, "The eye is pleased when nature stoops to art." How appropriate that this nugget should follow the O'Keefe statement from January 1.

We can find inspiration everywhere, all around us. Even empty spaces, Ghost Ranches, and wide open prairie can offer solace and peace. Perhaps 2013 will be a year to approach our surroundings with wonder, and appreciate all we have.