The first day of the year, and there’s a new supermoon tonight. Maybe this is auspicious. I’d like to believe in some kind of signal or sign that we’re turning the corner here on planet earth. In the meantime, it’s strangely warm here in Ohio with constant rain. The sun sets at 5:19pm.

This morning I lumbered into the park for a run in the heavy rain. I tried my best to feel fresh and brand new for these first hours of the year, but I could still hear the head noise of unsent emails, ignored text messages, unwritten words, and the litany of errands and obligations that come with being a person in the 21st century. Then I rounded the corner and saw an otherworldly mist rising from the pond, and for a moment, I felt a rare stillness. And I realized I’m forever nursing a pointless fantasy: If only I had enough time. Enough space. Enough silence. I can’t stop the world. But occasionally, I get lucky, and I can stop my thoughts.

My new year’s resolution is to write more—and write looser and weirder. And I’m going to work on being kinder, more curious, rather than trading in the cheap currency of cynicism and despair.

I’ve been contemplating this line from The Twilight Zone, rolling it around in my head like a koan: “We love a rose because it will soon be gone. Whoever loved a stone?”

Sugar Plant – Rainy Day

Happy | World Domination, 1998 | Apple/Spotify

A lush and nearly perfect Japanese dream-pop album from ’98 that deserves more attention.