Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

2009 was not my best year in this area. It started badly, with a good dozen or so writing assignments due in the first few months of the year. (Come to think of it, 2010 is starting the same way, though with less on my plate, thankfully.) I felt guilty whenever I wasn’t working on them, feeling them pile up.

I can’t say I was very diligent about regular quiet times. However, I did create tranquil moments here and there. The big chair in the living room (next to the Christmas tree at the moment) is my go-to quiet place. Trouble is there’s always a stack of books nearby, not to mention the internet in my pocket. Not that reading’s a bad thing, but sometimes you gotta stop the constant stream of words.

I also had some successful choco-sabbaths—a moment of quiet, enjoying a single piece of chocolate.

Here’s to beginning again in 2010… or today…