Another Year, Another Gift

I love this time, as one year comes to a close and another begins. It’s a time when I sit quietly and reflect on all that’s passed, and on what might come. For me, it’s a mix of silent contemplation and harried planning. Let’s hope they balance each other out!

The silence provides a space for something new to appear. On its own. Without my insistence. The silence is slow, gentle, accommodating, and roomy. In its spaciousness, a sight, sound, or memory appears, catching up with me somehow. I’m often caught by surprise. And sometimes the surprise is welcome, sometimes not.

The planning is something else altogether. Filled with structure and timelines and goals. I’m amused by the current popularity of paper planners, and I’m trying out a new one myself in 2019 (the Daily Greatness business planner). I love the look and feel of it, but honestly, it scares me a little. All those prompts and directive layouts feel bossy sometimes. I’ve been trying to shoehorn myself into its format over the past couple weeks, and I feel like a contortionist trying to do so. Still, I love to try out new tools and processes, so we’ll see how it goes.

Gratitude also feels natural and necessary this time of year. Especially in the midst of these turbulent times, I find myself aware of all that’s there, quietly at work on my behalf and that of others. I’m glad to know gratitude firsthand. To know it’s alive and well.

Finally, I’m reflecting on how creativity showed up this year, taking inventory on this year’s creative efforts and encounters. How did it show up for you? How will it show up in the coming year? Will you let it?

So as you transition from this year to the next, I hope it’s with a mix of sound and silence, acceptance and anticipation. Gratefully. Creatively.