Reflecting back and imagining the future

As each New Year dawns, I take the opportunity to reflect on the past and imagine the future.  Such is my lifelong habit regarding New Years.  But in very recent years, a lot of that reflection hinges upon the arts experiences I have had in the past year and will have in the year to come.  I wrote about this at length last January.  (Go ahead...please read it!) 

I remember that when my mother turned 50, she declared that she wanted to see more live arts events.  Year after year since then, she's made it happen.  She's seen a wider range of events than what she experienced prior to age 50, and I hope that range continues to widen for her.  

As a bona fide list-making geek, I keep track of the live events I see each year.  I get excited about seeing the annual number grow, as it did in 2014 (albeit by just a few, but still!)  But also, I get excited to consider the range of events I experienced.  Music.  Dance. Theatre.  Older styles.  New styles.  Amateurs.  Professionals.  Living legends.  New works.  Classics.  Reinterpretations.  Was I the oldest or youngest member of the audience, or something in between?  How many venues did I set foot in?  How many cities did I travel to in order to experience live performance?  

And then there's the question of what impact those performances had on me.  Some of that impact can't yet be measured.  It will take years to know the full impact.  

I look forward to 2015 and what the year's end list will look like for me.  I hope you look forward to your year-end list as well.  And I hope you'll get out and be a part of the arts by being a part of the audience this year.