2026!

It’s 2026, another year, I suspect one that will carry a lot of weight given how chaotic the world has become. I hosted a party for my men’s group, spouses and partners included on Jan3rd. As with Christmas Eve, preparing required a lot of work. I have a beautiful house designed for parties—The kitchen area is open with a large island in an open great room, which flows into a covered deck which transitions into a patio on the edge of my backyard gardens. From there you can flow back into the house, either through the covered deck or by using the backdoor where you can circle back into the dining/kitchen area or go right into the flex space. The design was intentional to allow for the easy flow of people, and the men’s group holiday party reflected that with guests hanging out in the kitchen area, the covered deck and the patio with movement between the three. Later on, we played a game, werewolf, in the flex space. One of the brothers, a grill master, woke up at 530am to prepare the water-mouthing main courses. The food was fantastic, and I’m pausing to appreciate and have gratitude for the gathering.

As part of it, I had a burn container going as an offering for guests to write on paper and burn something they want to let go, an attachment that no longer served, or perhaps offer a want for 2026 and then cast it into the fire to release the intention into the cosmos. I’ve used the container before to burn paper but I had never built a fire within it. I way overused the kindling and the fire erupted with flames several feet high, getting close to an overhanging pine tree, and nearby plants were wilting and I was concerned they might catch fire—that garden, because of the pine tree, was covered in dried pine needles. There is a phrase on the container panels, BAD IDEA, and I was feeling it. Big time. I doused it with a lot of water, a dozen or so rounds of it as the kindling kept reigniting but eventually I got it under control, lessons learned. At one time, there was a big release of ash when I dropped a couple of logs on to it, and we had a Houston “snow” as the white ash released into the air.

I decided for my burn that I wanted to focus on what I wanted to happen, and then to release whatever worry I carried into the fire.

My 2026 wants are:

To publish Star Fall, the 2nd book.

To deploy a robust marketing campaign for book2 and book1. (to sell more books as an outcome)

To find a partner or a close friend

My release of something that no longer served (if ever):

Anxiety around dying

Alignment if being alone is where I need to be

That’s it—focused, and not diluted. I have other wants and a list of things to release that no longer serve but I decided to keep in simple. No top 10, no attempt or desire to force my mind into places outside of what came up in the moment.

I recommend the process if it becomes available. And to all of you, Happy New Year!