I’ve been wading in mid-level grit for the past 20+ years. What’s mid-level grit? Slogging on the subways with its assault of regurgitated late night reveries, the residue of homeless people living on the E line, caked-on body secretions at stations.

It finally caught up with me and I’m wondering how I get through the remainder of my time here in NYC. I eat the menu, right? I choose to cultivate experiences only captured here while creating a routine of gratitude.

Instead of writing down a list of goals, I thought I’d start a ritual for what I want to add to my life; this year incorporating self-care, creativity and connections. I believe everything else I’m thinking about will flow out of these overarching themes.

Creativity

At the end of last year I came across Adinkra symbols from Ghana and have been obsessed with them ever since. I’ve been wearing the Bese Saka pendant I created last October. It represents abundance and power. I paid off all my debt by Jan 1, 2022. Yeah, I’m designing 5 more!

I’m also thinking about a pendant based on Jungian psychology’s assertion that the consciousness /subconsciousness must be equal to create The Self: open conflict and open collaboration represented by the hammer and anvil. Between them, through heat and repeated hammering, the individual Self is formed. Love it!

Corresponding design sketches—