Who is Janus? Our first month, January, is named from this ancient god of beginnings. His two faces, one facing forward and one backward, remind us to not only look ahead this year, but also remember whence we came. We are always coming from somewhere and changing.

What are your plans for the year? I like the idea of always having a fresh start, a blank slate, starting over. In sports psychology, the words “start over” give the player a sense of relief and renewed focus, forgetting past mistakes. Can you use that phrase with your plans for the year? If you’ve been putting your plans to write on hold, perhaps this will be the year you start over.

Janus is also called the god of doorways. Standing in a doorway, metaphorically, gives you a vantage point to see where you’ve been and look ahead to where you want to go. Writing out your plans for the year starts your move toward your goals.

Writing is full of transitions, from paragraphs to pages. But, the transitions in your life/mind/soul as a result of writing cannot be counted in word count and page numbers.

If you’d like to become part of this deeper conversation about writing, I’d be honored to hear from you.

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Dr. Patricia Brawley maintains a therapy and consulting practice and is a university professor. She has always been deeply interested in mind-body interaction, health psychology, creativity, consciousness and dreams. She is strongly influenced by mindfulness meditation practice, Buddhist philosophy, yoga, and humanistic values and beliefs.

Dr. Brawley, a published author, enjoys writing and leading writing groups. She lives in McComb, Mississippi with her husband and three cats, Kwan Yin, Nightmare and Goldilocks.