Resolutions are tricky. They can take the shape of an army of ‘shoulds’ with pointy viscous teeth and funny artillery rather than actual manifestations of change. So, this year, let’s make New Year’s mantras. Something you can repeat in quiet moments or repeat to create a desperately needed quiet moment for yourself throughout the year.

I’m no expert on mantras, but I’ve had a few in my day. Keep it short, something that can be said in a simple exhale. It doesn’t have to be a sentence; it can even be a few words you want to focus on. Present tense is always good for manifesting, e.g. “I am” vs. “I will”. Other than those general guidelines, there are no rules. Your mantra is your very own.

Speaking of manifesting, I’ve recently ventured into the wild world of fermentation with projects like culturing my own yogurt (and then straining it, and using the whey for other things), lacto-fermentation (both with and without whey) and even an apple scrap vinegar adventure. I’m hooked and so are my pals back in Brooklyn who have mastered the fine art of kombucha, a fermented tea beverage.

As a special New Year’s alterna-resolution kind of thing, Kombucha Brooklyn has offered up to one lucky reader a home brew kit, a very real and easy way to grow and integrate live-cultured beverages into your existing life. No ‘shoulds’ or ‘I really need to learns’ necessary.

Here’s the info listed on their website about the kit:

KBBK Kombucha Home Brew Kit is an easy, fun and cost-effective kit for making your very own kombucha at home! Everything you need to make your own delicious and healthful kombucha is inside. From instructions to ingredients to a jar to to brew it in, it’s all there. And the special bonus : access to the Kombuchman himself to answer all your brewing questions and guide you on your quest for the perfect ‘buch! Check out our video to see how easy it is.

Included in each Home Brew Kit are the following tried and true components:

• USDA Certified 1 Gallon glass jar
• 100% Organic cotton cover
• Rubber band
• 1 Brew’s worth of KBBK’s hand-selected blend of fair trade, organic teas
• 1 Brew’s worth of organic, fair trade cane sugar
• 1 Temperature Indicator Strip
• Very detailed instructions
• KBBK’s pristinely propagated Scoby (culture) with liquid starter

To enter: leave a comment below with your New Year mantra by Thursday, January 12 at midnight EST for a chance to win the brew kit. Since my pals in Brooklyn are a small biz and this is a relatively heavy kit, they’re unable to ship to anywhere besides the US. I wish I could offer to front shipping to anywhere, but at the moment I’m a super-small biz, too and can’t really swing it. I do hope my international readership will still share a mantra, though! (p.s. if you don’t enter your email address in the box on the comment form where it asks for it, I won’t be able to contact you and you won’t win.) Winner will be selected by random.org, but everyone who enters will receive a 20% off coupon code good for goods in their online shop!

I can’t very well ask you to share a personal mantra without also sharing mine, so here it is, a few words from a Rilke poem translation that have sat within me for some time: