Not too long ago, I moved somewhere enchanted. It was a time of turmoil beforehand, but I was able to catch a tiger by the toe from the fringes of my misery. He promised me a babbling brook and gave me repeated peace, too. The December Pond was once an actual place for many years, but way leads onto way. A season of atmospheric rivers passed through and washed the spiders out.
Today, the December Pond is a figurative place to reflect. If there’s a place you can go to get a babbling brook, or a location where you can find repeated peace, I suggest you go there.
Meditate on Your Year
Just marinate in it for as long as you can. A moment or an afternoon. Midday or Midnight. Whenever you can find the time. If you’ve lived a malicious year, it’s okay to feel all the feels.
Think of a Theme
My theme for 2023 was “Show and hit publish”. My intention was to Try Something New Every Month. There’s no theme set yet for 2024 is, and that’s totally chill. December is for resting— Something I haven’t included thoughtfully in years. That’s my new thing I’m trying for December 2023. To rest.
I’ve published 317 pages to the internet.
In January, I started a business. Just the basics. In February, I established a presence on the internet. Small one, but bada-bing. In March, I attended in-person tradeshows and conferences, (and skateboarded at midnight with the garage crew in LA).
In April, I intended to start a podcast, but a friend told me we were breaking up, and I got real sad instead. I started SEO and come up with this super-fun slogan for sadness madness: “You don’t need friends to do SEO.” And it’s true!
On April 18, I got my first Ubersuggest Site Audit above 0.
I literally let out some whoops when I saw this. I can feel the excitement I felt.
What were you excited about this year?
In May I took a surf lesson and tried a podcast. In June, shoot, I don’t even know right now. In July I started a YouTube. In August I got a job, in September I found myself with a side-hustle, and in October I got paid by a copywriting client. In November, I made 43 dollars via affiliate marketing, participated in NaNoWriMo (though not. very well), inadvertantly got back into books, and in December … This one is beautiful. I made a sale on my Shopify site from an organic search results.
Succumb to the Seasons
Ninety days gave me a good leg up. So many button presses between 31 organic keywords and 99. I’m proudest of getting the low word count from 43 pages to 5 pages while adding 19 more. As a copywriter, though, these pages will get reworked.
See, I decided that instead of creating a novels-worth of emails and webpages all about how good I am as a copywriter, I just got to practicing. My over-arching theme for 2023 was “Show and hit publish”. Yes, that’s a variation on the literary adage of show & tell. Instead of showing and telling, I specifically want to hit publish instead of tell. **winky face**
Numb the Pain
In November, my summer highs hit a slope and Uncle Google released updates that slowed my roll. Most entrepreneurs on the internet felt the same way, but many of them used robots to fight back. I did not, really. Mostly I took naps. December is for Rest. Not always, but this year, for me, December is for resting.
My birthday coincides with a full moon this year, and as my Witchy Era sets in naturally … I am not surprised.
Where is your Mind?
As the year comes to a close, my mind is ping-ponging between a few ethereal ideals. My mind is present when my body is at work. On the couch, I’ve been reading instead of watching, and I’m considering that research for my new found intention to write a novel.
Literarily, did not see that coming.
It’s a Cozy Murder Mystery.
So, PS— Someone dies.
This is it.
The December Pond. The actual place in the actual word that I coined the December Pond. On December 26th, my favorite place was taken away by a series of atmospheric rivers. A term I hadn’t heard before. The neighbor’s call it a “40 year storm”, but we’ll see. What with global warming and all. Is this just a thing now?
Can’t Go Back
There is no water here anymore. Just debris on top of sand. The creek that feeds this magical oasis changed directions overnight. There’s more drama I want to show you, but it’s time to move on.
The past is gone.
What shall we do for the future?
The Future is Here.
Actual Ways I celebrate the end of the year in the name of reflection at the December Pond.
- Take Rest
- Be With Nature
- Deep Cleaning
- Archive Email
- Organize my Workflowy
- Be with Humans
- Honor the Dead
- Reflect on the past year
- Marinate in the future me
- Think a theme
- Celebrate Wins
- compress screenshots
- Read books
- Change passwords
