If working writers learn nothing else, we must learn to make friends with the blank page.

As one of my writing teachers advised, every time we lift a pen or start typing on a keyboard, we have an opportunity to hit the editorial bull’s-eye or touch the hearts of our readers. Then again, we could miss the mark entirely. Even if we get tangled up in our own unruly paragraphs, the blank page offers a chance to start over.

With that in mind, I recently purchased a polished river stone carved with the words, “Begin Again.” It functions nicely as a paperweight as well as an inspirational charm to ward off writer’s block. This month, especially, it reminds me that 2011 is a brand-new chapter waiting to be written and revised along the way.   

I’m also inspired when other people talk about their goals and dreams, so this week I asked a few Royal Oak friends to share their resolutions for the year ahead. 

Fresh starts and healthy outlooks

 “Though I never make a ‘resolution,’ I always look forward to the New Year in anticipation and with a fresh-start attitude,” journalist Lynne Hessen Cobb said.

Gena Brown, a retired telecommunications supervisor, sees the new year as a chance to take stock while moving forward: “I am eternally grateful every day, for every blessing, because life is short,” Brown explained.  During the holidays, Brown’s grown son, Travis, reminded her of how important it is to cherish time spent with loved ones: “Travis said that he often looks at his own son, Declan, who will be 6 this year, and says it seems as if he was ‘only born yesterday.’ I told him, ‘Welcome to my life, where you were Declan's age about a week ago!’ " 

Several Royal Oak residents said maintaining good health is their first priority. A few cited weight loss as a major goal or resolution.

Paul R. Ehrmann, D.O., of Royal Oak’s Family Health Care Center, said his resolution is to encourage preventative medicine: “While I treat illness on a daily basis, my resolution is to recommit my daily efforts to helping my patients prevent disease by promoting good health practices, so our families can improve the quality of their lives.”

I can’t think of a local doctor who wouldn’t agree that there’s a strong link between our physical health and emotional well-being. Along those lines, Joanne Keys, mother of two, made this resolution: “To take more naps, eat more chocolate, make more time to go out with friends, laugh more and simply take the time to smell the roses.” 

A challenging year ahead

Last year was a tough one for my family. My father-in-law died in June after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and my widowed mother’s health has been on the decline for months. I’ve spent more hours at Beaumont Hospital and in doctors’ offices than I can count on both hands. Meanwhile, it was also a brutal season for several friends and colleagues who lost their jobs. I can relate to their struggles, too, having tripped over a few obstacles while trying to reinvent my own career.

So, what about my resolutions? I simply hope to find the stamina I’ll need to be there for the folks who’ll need me most and to stop spreading myself so thin.  While I’m at it, I’d like to start sleeping through the night.

Whether I meet these aspirations or not, I know life has a remarkable way of working out as it should – even when the mountain ahead looks too steep to climb.  At the very least, experience has taught me that transformation of any kind doesn’t happen overnight.

I’m reminded of the time I was recovering from two complete hip-replacement surgeries within a span of four months. A few days following my first surgery, a friend who knows I tend to be impatient gave me a copy of her favorite quote from Lao Tzu: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  

That simple phrase got me through the toughest exercises in physical therapy – and helped me learn to walk, pain free, without assistive devices. Ten years later, the same message gives me the motivation I need to meet the challenges ahead.

I’m ready to begin again.