Resolved: I will look up.
“Resolve” originates in the Latin resolvere: to “loosen, undo, settle, fasten”–a seemingly paradoxical combination of the intensive prefix re and solvere. (The word “resolve” did not become commonly used as a noun signifying determination until at least a century later.)
Somewhat like the metaphorical thin spaces–which seem quite dense to me–I wonder how the same word can mean both becoming settled and becoming undone.
On the other hand, isn’t that also what the process of grief is? I have become undone by it, but it also has settled into me, not necessarily always for the worse. It has given me the resolve to do what I feel I must to honor Jim in this new life without him.
Resolved: I will see beauty in unexpected places
Resolved: I will seize the opportunity for adventure, as Jim would have
Resolved: I will keep my camera at the ready
Resolved: I will always, always remember
Resolved: I will make things for people I love
Resolved: I will return to the work I love, for my sake and my children’s
Resolved: I will draw and paint again
Resolved: I will remember that we are far from the only ones who suffer
Resolved: I will look up. Who knows what I’ll see?
Love in the Spaces 
your resolve is mighty, your aims full of beauty, hope and love. pure inspiration.
and I hope you don’t mind that I was so inspired I linked your post from my own:
http://bornbyariver.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/the-loosening-and-the-rebirth/
I love your post–and am honored. It was your October post that inspired one of my favorite posts, yet another tendril of those unexpected consequences of our losses and reshaping.
oo! I’m curling my toes with delighted excitement!
I just know it will help bring you good luck 🙂 Can you get my email from your top-secret “follower” info and possibly we can figure out a safe real-world address to send it when it’s done?
I love it when people take the time to look up the origin of words. It unfolds so much about the concept and how we use language. Thank you for this dollop of wonder.
Steph, Sarah and I just came home from walking the Resolution Run to Kick Cancer in Lexington. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and we walked holding hands the whole way. I could not help but think about my good fortune as we crossed the finish line, with my family waiting for us. But my good fortune is always inermingled with the sadness of Jim’s fate, and the fate of so many others who are still on the “journey”. He is ever present in our lives, and is still a positive influence on us all.