Grace, brilliance, art and fun

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This article was published 15/01/2025 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rudyard Kipling knew what he was talking about when he wrote the aptly named poem New Year’s Resolutions.

In seven succinct stanzas, first published in the Civil and Military Gazette in 1887, he bemoaned the impossibility of “laying his vices on the shelf” by “dropping smokes,” by “flirting no more” and by loving his neighbours, among other things.

New year resolutions have been the norm for millennia — the custom was purportedly established by Babylonians 4,000 years ago when the ancients would make promises to the gods in mid-March (when the new year began) and, if they kept their word, the gods would look kindly upon them.

While a lot has changed since then, the tradition of making resolutions has remained.

Imbued with a sense of hope, compelled to declare that changes are on the horizon, new goals are set and promises made to ourselves — and sometimes others — to be better at staying in touch, better at responding to invitations, better at working out, better at managing finances, better at doing laundry and better at eating better.

More often than not, however, resolutions set us up for failure. After the first flush of excitement it becomes tough to keep the momentum going.

Thankfully, recent times have seen a shift from the firm resolves of the past, which focus solely on the outcome, to the gentler setting of intentions, which gives equal weight to the journey as well as the end result.

This year, the Free Press invited four Winnipeggers — tamara rae biebrich, David Pensato, Dorota Blumczyńska and Kate Fenske — to share their intentions for the year ahead with us.

Spread the word about local art

“Art connects people, and I’m lucky to experience this every day at home and through my work. My family bonds over art — like drawing with my kid, reading a book together or hearing my partner play music.

“At work, I collaborate with amazing local artists and bring creative projects into the community. I’m inspired by moments like my mother-in-law telling me how much she loves the free bookmarks she picked up at the library, which were part of Winnipeg artist Natalie Mark’s Chinatown Banner public art project.

“Or my kid’s excitement over Eli and Morgan’s latest adventures in The Misewa Saga by David Robertson and the public art for downtown’s new Odeon Park.

“This year, I want to be really intentional about sharing these stories and spreading the word about Winnipeg art. There’s so much incredible work happening here and I want to make sure more people have the chance to discover and enjoy it.”

tamara rae biebrich, public art manager, Winnipeg Arts Council

 

Focus on what we have

“I am not a new year’s resolution kind of person, but right now my intention is to focus on things that are working with people that are helping to make them work.

“I think the last few years have been challenging for everybody, but over the last six to eight months things have been turning around in the Exchange.

“It still requires a lot of work but it is a lot better to focus on things that are working and helping them to work better than just to focus on the things we don’t have a lot of influence on or a lot of control over. There is stuff that we can do and keep doing with our friends and partners.

“My intention is to work on fun projects with people I work well with. That’s true of my personal life and my professional life, too.”

David Pensato, executive director, Exchange District BIZ

 

Share my story

“Later this year I will turn 44. My mama was 44 years old when she died of cancer. I don’t deny the profound impact losing her has had on my life — it has changed me to my core.

“As time has passed, one of the things that I think made her death so hard for us, or maybe just for me as a 16-year-old child, was being left with so many unanswered questions. There are so many things about my mama as a person that I will never know.

“With this in mind, a couple years ago I started putting together a ‘When I Die’ binder — letters to my kids about who I am, what being their mama has meant to me; important documents about my childhood and our shared ancestry; instructions for my celebration of life, including a joyful music list; where to scatter my ashes in Canada and back home in Poland; how to share my belongings amongst themselves and with other family and friends, etc.

“I will probably come back to this binder periodically in future years, but given the significance of this year’s birthday, I want to get it finished so I can put that work aside.

“I’m excited and a bit anxious about life beyond 44 but I chose to believe it will be brilliant.”

Dorota Blumczyńska, CEO, Manitoba Museum

 

Practice self-compassion

“My intention is to give myself grace when the outcome is beyond my control and feel content and calm knowing that I’m doing my best.

“I think there’s a sense of peace that comes with giving ourselves permission to not carry the weight of everything happening around us.

“We’ve been working so hard for so long to create positive change in the community, and at some point we have to tune out the noise and focus on what we know is right and just keep moving forward.”

Kate Fenske, CEO, Downtown Winnipeg BIZ

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca