Hitching a Ride; First to the Party
I am happy to see 2019 go and 2020 swell forward. I am proud of the diligence, focus, and grit I applied during 2019 in the face of a year that mainly felt like going uphill with small dips of reprieve. I am immensely proud of myself for not giving up on my end goal even during some tough moments.
Saying goodbye to the energy and mood that dominated 2019 and welcoming with anticipation and joy the prospects for 2020 is threaded by the meaning designated to each year within the Asian calendar. 2019 was the year of the golden pig. I understood that to mean, essentially, the year of money. The theme of 2019 was money and money–although essential to good living–is in and of itself not happiness. In January of 2019 I felt a certain dread of the upcoming year take over my psyche. The year proved grinding and rough.
2020 is the year of the mouse (or rat). It is the first animal in the Chinese zodiac because the mouse (or rat), as the story goes, it was the first animal to arrive at the Lord’s party. The mouse hitched a ride on Ox’s back and just at they both arrived at the threshold of the Lord’s home for the party, the mouse jumped off Ox’s back and was therefore first to arrive.
The year of the mouse has such a different energy than the year of the pig. The zodiac mouse is an animal that took a smart, planned initiative to meet his goal. This is a year that I think will bring encouragement and inspiration to each of us in our efforts to develop ourselves in the ways we have been aspiring to. I think the year of the mouse comes with an energy of healing, unity, and self-confidence, which will give strength to the founding and momentum of different movements and initiatives.
Cheers to the year of the mouse and let us all turn to each other, trust in each other, believe in each other, and connect with each other to garner the strength and confidence to pursue our goals and bring the change we envision.
Rebekah Hart lives in Buffalo, NY with her husband, two children and cat. She works in sales and greatly appreciates people celebrating what makes us different while discovering the many things that bind us.
Ratty, by Rochelle Ball is digital stipple. For more works by Rochelle, see Picodots.
Your prognosis for the year of the mouse was amazingly prescient. We are going to need all the healing, unity and self confidence we can get to see this year though. Great art by Rochelle. Thank you both. Baba