Over the holidays, I received a book of poems. I flipped through the pages and, as the universe would have it, landed on this poem by Charlotte Perkins Gilman:
I Resolve
To keep my health,
To do my work,
To live,
To see to it I grow and gain and give,
Never to look behind me for an hour,
To wait in weakness and to walk in power.
But always fronting onward toward the light
Always and always facing toward the right,
Robbed, starved, defeated, fallen, wide astray-
On with what strength I have
Back to the way!
It was a timely message. I was just starting to think about New Year’s Resolutions, and these words – words with the conviction of a female poet and activist in the late 1800s – resonated. This poem speaks to that which I’ve prioritized for the coming year: health, work, growth, and giving. I like this idea of moving “onward toward the light” and “always facing toward the right.” It has been helpful for me to write down these intentions and meditate on them. Intention-setting is a practice, after all. It’s a matter of self-study, quiet reflection, and always moving toward the light.
I shared this poem at our New Year: Renewed event and thought you all might like to read it too.
Honoring the light within,
Alicia
