MetaChat - Coffin & Cradle 2012-13

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31 December 2012

Coffin & Cradle 2012-13 Reviving a tradition.→[More:] It's simple: There is an imaginary coffin and an imaginary cradle. In the coffin you place anything you would like to see pass out of your life from 2009 - a bad habit, bad luck, something you're done with, something you'd like to leave behind - concrete or abstract, doesn't matter.

In the cradle you place something that you would like to newly bring into your life, nurture, and grow..

What are yours?

To check in with past Coffin & Cradle items, links to the 2008-9, 2009-10, and 2010-11 threads are now on the Wiki. I guess we didn't do it last year.

post by: Miko at: 20:14 | 24 comments

Coffin = We've hired a lawyer to help us get out of our lease due to the chronic noise around here. Hopefully we'll be free as soon as the landlords get the letter, which is scheduled to be Wednesday. Bye bye, noisy neighbors! Hello, elevator building!

Cradle = Continuing to build fun family times with my son.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 31 December | 20:30

Wow. I just realized that I have never done one of these. I think that I was probably overwhelmed by the notion of summing up my life, in these terms.

Let's see.

Coffin: Cancer. . .I have had two dilettante-like brushes with cancer, and I hope to keep it that way. Also, my job, which is ending this spring. I lovingly put this in the coffin, because it has given me a lot, in terms of identity and a place in this community, and has put my name out there, for better or worse. But time to turn a page, as they say.

Cradle: Whatever my post-retirement life turns out to be. I have had a long-standing plan to volunteer for the Red Cross. In fact, if Sandy had come a year later, I might very well have been back on the East Coast, helping. Also, start playing guitar, again, seriously. I used to be really good, and need to get that way again.

posted by danf 31 December | 20:35

Coffin: These feelings that life is skipping past me without my making the most of each day.

Cradle: Rebuilding my social network, to include partying friends, some type of activist group, and possibly a band.

This will necessitate my moving, but that hand is pretty much being forced anyway.

posted by Ardiril 31 December | 20:44

Coffin: My self-sabotaging ways, including but not limited to the fact that I scratch myself until I bleed, and then pick the scabs so I bleed some more.

Cradle: The next phase of my life as a Minnesotan.

posted by TrishaLynn 31 December | 23:48

Coffin: O so many things. Still stuck on the health thing. I've invested so much energy in producing, working, meeting demands, school, obligations...and so little in my own self-maintenance. This has to change, or my future is an unpleasant one. I lay to rest self-neglect.

Also, meanness, smallness. Trying so hard to stay away from contention.

Cradle: Friends and Family- investing time in my loved ones near and dear. Getting married, I hope. Caring for people. Self: returning to health in body and mind. Finding and using quiet time. Growing and nurturing the whole family, and friends as well.

posted by Miko 01 January | 00:39

Coffin: stupid habits that sabotage myself, like being late and resisting doing things when I could just get them over with.

Cradle: hopefully getting our finances better in order. Also, writing (and completing!) more, which has been a wonderful surprise in the last year. And maybe this is the year that an actual cradle comes into play, too. Stranger things have happened!

posted by Madamina 01 January | 02:34

Coffin: all the things that I've been letting get to me and all the things that I've been letting slip. The angst from the ex? Just gonna ignore it and not be dragged into her petty squabbles any more. Going to stop procrastinating about paying bills and other financial matters.

Cradle: pretty much the reverse of everything above. I've decided that 31 December 2012 is going to be the low point in my life and it's all uphill from here. There are still lots of things that I can't control, but I can control whether I let them get to me and how I react to those things. I can't control how my ex treats me, but I am taking the high road from here on in and not buying grief.

posted by dg 01 January | 03:10

Coffin : Self-sabotage, lack of confidence

Cradle : Using the tools I have to improve my fitness and well-being. This will involve a feast for the foxes today as I clear the fridge out and discard the last of the holiday food. I also need to tackle this damn psoriasis - it impacts so much on my self-confidence and my fear of other people's reactions to it has stopped me from using the pool at my gym for the last year.

posted by Senyar 01 January | 04:20

Two things for each:

Coffin: cancer. A close family member had serious cancer treatment last year, but has come through it and is really well now. Long may that continue.

Coffin: disorganisation. I run my own business and need to get a handle on the money side of things. I've taken good steps this year to put systems in place to do this, but want to put an end to my fear of getting organised. (I guess this could also come under Cradle, if framed more positively)

Cradle: I can take this quite literally, as I'm having a baby in the summer.

Cradle: more generally, embracing new ideas. Strangely, I have found that the prospect of a new baby is opening up all kinds of ideas and possibilities in my mind; I always imagined that it would close off options. Who knows whether it'll be possible to follow them all through, but we'll see.

posted by altolinguistic 01 January | 04:44

Coffin: Unfortunately I lost a dear friend to the big C. His partner, who is also a good friend, understandably isn't doing well so I'm spending hours on the phone with him.

Coffin: emotional eating needs to go.

Cradle: Being a better friend. I took my precious few days off and visited friends last week and need to make it a priority. It helps us all feel loved and time is fleeting.

posted by mightshould 01 January | 07:03

↑: I'm mid 40 and have never played the guitar. But yesterday I've bought one 2nd hand and started practicing. I've decided I'm going to practice for the coming 10 years. My goal is to be able to accompany myself when I sing and to show my daughter that music is not only something you consume but also that you make.
I bought a compact guitar so that it will be always on hand without being in the way. A Steinberger with some custom elements if that means anything to you.

↓: just like other people I have some bad habits that I want to shake.

posted by jouke 01 January | 08:44

jouke, my dad got this book, Guitar Zero, for Christmas about someone who takes up guitar after 40. He's a scientist, so he studies the whole learning process and how it is different as an adult. So far he is really liking it.

posted by Miko 01 January | 13:51

Hey miko. Yes, that book confirmed me in my endeavour. :-)
Basically I'm just resolved to practice a lot.

posted by jouke 01 January | 14:22

jouke, backing tracks.

posted by Ardiril 01 January | 14:31

Hey, it worked!

posted by Eideteker 01 January | 15:02

Coffin: Things from the past that have really caused me pain; that I tend to hold on to instead of moving forward. I need to learn "it is what it is" and let the past go.

Cradle: The "moving forward" part of above. I have a lot of blessings in my life; I want to make sure I am thankful for those every day.

posted by redvixen 01 January | 21:23

Thank you for the tip ardiril. Looks like that will come in useful after (quite) some practice.

posted by jouke 01 January | 22:41

Once you learn a scale, you can probably jump right onto a blues track. Just find two notes that sound good, and play them. dee-da-da dee-da dee-da-da-da

posted by Ardiril 01 January | 23:03

Casket: Hair dye.

Cradle: Got a 4-day hiking trip scheduled for September. Need equipment, practice, etc.

posted by JanetLand 02 January | 08:24

Casket: the fear that prevents me from making the hard choices to make my life better instead of settling for quiet or not-so-quiet desperation

Cradle: strength, peace, grace, and love for myself and those around me, in the right order and in the right measure

posted by Twiggy 02 January | 22:04

Coffin: being closed off to new people and things

Cradle: more spiritual practice, especially daily practice

posted by sperose 03 January | 10:39

Coffin: Loneliness.

Cradle: Productivity.

posted by koucha 03 January | 13:24

Looked up last year's again and am just overwhelmed that this simple little ritual actually does it for me.

Last year's coffin: my house - sold it to a vulture capitalist at a not so great rate, but it was off my shoulders.

Last year's cradle: books and weights. The weights have taken off, with me losing 20 pounds and getting a blue belt in karate.

The "books" part didn't do so well, and that's where I'm struggling now.

coffin: debt. Student load (I realized the misspelling and then resolved to keep it) is crazy. That will go away one way or another.

cradle: my book. I know everyone has a book in them, so do I. I'm going to get it out.

posted by lysdexic 10 January | 13:57

Coffin: A year of horrible health habits; too much sedentary time indoors and poor diet/nutrition.

Cradle: I reproduced!

posted by buzzman 15 January | 07:08

← I know Orange Swan won't be impressed -- || December Musical Gifstravaganza →

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