A Year in the Life


Are you still sticking with those New Year's resolutions you made a few weeks ago? Jeffrey Beaumont is just getting started. The NY-based creative writer has embarked on a Year of Hyperliving, his first-ever New Year's resolution. Described by him as "A maximalist approach to living right," Beaumont is taking a quasi-Zen approach to mindful situationism, and blogging heavily about it. Each week, this year, he will take on a new task--difficult ones he'd not ordinarily face, like trying to write a poem a day or talking to a stranger everyday and trying to make that conversation meaningful--which is, admittedly, how this writer discovered his project. His diary entries about these experiences are humble and easy to identify with, given their openness about the difficulties of carrying through on the week's commitment. So far, they've also been fruitful to readers, who this week have been cashing-in on his effort to "Make a different themed 60 min. cd mix each day." Next week Beaumont is abstaining from aural pleasure. His (Working) Manifesto of Hyperliving 2008 explains that his goal is to overcome his interrelated fears of commitment and failure and we wish him the best of luck. If you'd like to keep up with Beaumont's weekly tasks, visit his blog and subscribe to his Google calendar. - Marisa Olson