Music of the Day, 20 December 2024
thinking about my intentions for the upcoming year
When my kids and I left their father’s home, we started thinking about how we wanted to observe our celebrations. We’d never celebrated Christmas and their dad’s fondness for New Year’s Eve/Day didn’t resonate with us, so after consideration and discussion, we agreed to celebrate the winter solstice.
Since then, we’ve kinda-sorta tried to establish some traditions,1 but with this year’s upcoming celebration, none has been observed each year. And I’ve decided I’m fine with that. Celebrations should grow and change as our lives and abilities do.
I’ll be returning to my observance an element from our first few years that admittedly wasn’t as valuable to my kids, who were in their early teens back then. I don’t remember ever coming up with any new year’s resolutions,2 but I’ve thought about my intentions to some degree for many years. This year, I’ll return to setting some intentions on paper, then burning it.
These aren’t goals per se. My intentions are about creating and/or finding a path in my life that is true to my values. This year, conversations with several people have helped me refine what my path through the trees and undergrowth might look like. They include: Peter Saint-Andre;
; ; and two very dear friends who aren’t active on Substack and who may not want my spotlight shone on them. I know they will recognize themselves with just this mention, and that’s sufficient.So as I was thinking about my intentions, a nebulous theme emerged, in the form of a song.
It is very possible that I acquired my digital copy of Dick Gaughan’s 2001 album Outlaws & Dreamers not long after it was published in 2001. I adore every track on it, but each one tugs at my heart so much that it’s hard to bear listening to it all the way through. “When I’m Gone” is a good example, as is the other song by Gaughan that has appeared in this space. His emotion-infused performance of the powerful lyrics is simply beautiful.
I believe all the tracks on Outlaws & Dreamers are covers of others’ songs. Today I discovered that “When I’m Gone” was written by Phil Ochs. I’d heard of him before but hadn’t bothered to learn about him. My intentions for 2025 will be better for having done so today.
many of which are Scandinavian in origin … which doesn’t always work well in the desert Southwest
calendars are just agreements about how to count and number days, so any day one chooses could be the start of a new year, a better habit, etc.
🖖