# 196 New Leaf

Today's prompt immediately brought to mind a cascade of thoughts related to New Leaf : turning over a new leaf, New Year's resolutions, changing unproductive behaviors of the past, and quite literally, the budding leaves of spring. I don't usually make New Year resolutions but I'm going to make an exception this year. Do not read any Sunday Scribblings posts before penning (typing) you own. Until I read Lucy's (#17) Sunday Scribblings blog post the idea of a leaf referring to the page of a book or magazine hadn't come to my mind.

The leaves of spring are a ways off, at least a few months; time enough to devote current thought to ideas of turning over another kind of new leaf. Besides if one were to actually turn over a new , say Maple, leaf what would be the adage to follow? Of course the leaves of spring, being harbingers of rebirth and renewal, give us pause to reflect and renew any pledges and resolutions we may have committed to at the beginning of the new year.

< So with Lucy's help I turned over a new leaf in my brain and decided that the pages of a calender could just as easily be referred to when considering a New Leaf. I like calenders. In fact I like them so much that there are usually 5 or 6 wrapped and under our Christmas tree every year with my name written on the tag.

I used to have one of those big desk calenders, you know, the ones that measured 16" X 20" with the 2 1/2 inch square boxes for each day. They were great for planning, and also for doodling and at the end of a year they provided a history of the past year. Since I started blogging and using all the other new fangled electro-gizmo's to keep track, not only of birthdays, appointments, and honey do lists, but also of my tasks and thoughts, addresses and phone numbers as well as email addys and miscellaneous musings, I've found myself not in need of the desk calender.
You might be thinking, or not, or you may not have gotten this far before out clicking to the next blog; with all of these electronic day planners why do you still have so many calenders?

Well, since you've stayed this long, let me expound: Calenders today offer so much more than just a way to keep track of which day it is. I remember back when I was growing up finding the Currier and Ives prints on the calender in Aunt Nellie's kitchen fascinating. Later on , besides having bucolic scenes on their pages, calenders might have pithy sayings, adages, proverbs and any number trivial quips.

Slide forward to today and you can find a calender for any interest. And at page-a-day calenders, if you can't find a calender to fit your interest they offer to make one up on special order just for you.

For me calenders offer daily inspiration, prompts if you will, to direct my thoughts for the day; to help to see the glass as half full no matter what. They keep me positive. I figure if I keep inundating myself with positive thoughts over and over, day in and day out, that soon I'll be the positive change I want to see in my world and yours. So every day; a new page, a leaf, is turned and I'm off on another exciting adventure; my day!


This is a new calender for me this year and I've placed it right here to the right of my computer. Are you kidding me? Every day I'm greeted with 10 things to be happy about. This is so cool, I'm tempted to peek at tomorrow's list tonight. Believe you me these aren't things I'd normally be thinking about in the morning, maybe not ever. So you see what I mean about practicing? At the end of 2010 I'll have turned over 365 new leaves and been happy about 3,650 new things. Holy-Moly-Man what a gift that is.

But wait, that 's just the beginning; I haven't even gone out to the gym yet.

My gym is in the 900 sq. ft. 2nd floor over my garage. Therein you'll find most any kind of torture device known to modern man for getting one into well enough physical condition to live to be a healthy 100 years old. Oh, there is more: a Buddhist altar for meditating in front of while lotusing (neologism?) or stretching or self hypnotizing or just listening to a Gregorian choir chanting over the stereo. (just in case you want to extend life even longer ). Even without calenders, every morning that I enter this sanctuary is like turning the page to the next piece of my life.

But in fact the gym does have calenders. There are usually no less than 4 calenders in the gym.


For a number of years the yearly edition of 365 days in France calender hangs to the immediate right of my desk. On my desk is always the page-a-day calender; ZEN.
Imagine going to France every day and being Zen about it! January is devoted to Le Cote d' Azure....what a way to spent January, jheezsh.

There is this year a calender devoted to Yankee Stadium, which my wife gave to all her boys, me included. And of course there is the yearly free calender given out by our fuel oil distributor; Spilman's Morristown Fuel & Supply. This calender depicts scenic views of spots across New York state and serves to please aesthetically and to remind us of our state's history; refresh our memories.

Every day of every year that you breath there is a new leaf to experience, of this I'm perfectly positive even if I'm not positively perfect. But everyday that I open my eyes I get another chance to practice.

If you want more new leafs then pop over here (just click).


Happy New Year to All: old friends and new, real and imagined.