New Year | scribblechic

wake

December 31, 2014 § 8 Comments

We begin in truth; breathing life against filaments of hope and embers of love still warm beneath so much loss and fear. December will wake a New Year and we will draft our dreams against the dawn; the blush of our conviction written into a new beginning.

We sleep on the cusp of possibility.

December 28, 2014 § 9 Comments

The word itself is childish in its implied excess; greedy and passionate, clumsy and jubilant. The sound rolls against my tongue, my lips rounding with delight as the thought curls into a promise of possibility teasing my attention.

My natural tendencies are inclined toward less. I am most comfortable in minimal surroundings, content on a quieter path. Even my habits are unexceptionally unburdensome; my intimacies few, my possessions unextraordinary, my commitments few.

It is strange how chance wedges a suggestion into the unexpected until our thoughts lend roots that we might blossom into action. In my effort to choose a word for the year to come, a word has, perhaps, chosen me.

Just as I might number resolutions for self-improvement into a promise, in naming the year I first seek areas of growth and sources of inspiration in search of a theme that will tether me to conscious intention. Some of my goals are familiar in their failed fruition, others fleeting in their entrancement.

This morning I gathered a list of words, pages of suggestions printed in tidy, unassuming rows that I then read aloud; sounding out each word for resonance. In years past I might stike a line against those words that fell flat against my ears, circling those that kindled a spark within the recesses of my emotions. This year, my pen began scratching tiny addition symbols in the empty margin between rows as certain words begged my attention. Rather than whittling my list to a singular intention, my choices multiplied into a wish for more:

Balance, grace, intention, listening, ownership, play.

One of these words alone would bear a cumbersome responsibility to sustain across the span of a year. Too many words might tempt a fractured attention with broken results. Instead I am considering threading words and days with a message of more; assigning direction to seasons and inviting unanticipated opportunities for more without sacrificing an appreciation for less.

I am certain only of the spark behind the quick sketch in the margin of my words.

naming the year

December 27, 2014 § 4 Comments

The act of naming the New Year is a personal tradition that began in friendship, borrowed from another’s idea it has become a thread of thought that tethers my days to intention against the fullness of life’s daily distractions. Rather than resolutions, too fragile against the brittle stubbornness of old habits, I shape the year by first sounding out a single word that becomes a lens for personal growth.

Today I am scribbling possibilities with the elaborate scrawl of a child playing at their signature. Looping my thoughts around dramatic pen strokes and sounding out the New Year.

choosing & claiming

January 2, 2014 § 4 Comments

Naming the New Year has become a tradition that travels over miles and connects me in spirit to the company of an old friend; a kindred soul who similarly seeks inspiration and growth in personal expression. Each year we gift the New Year a name that weighs our consciousness in accountability for our hopes, creates momentum with positive intention, and lends direction with clarity of perspective. It is an exercise created by Ali Edwards who crafted a movement of inspiration and a community of creativity around One Little Word.

This marks my third year naming the New Year. In the beginning the experience of choosing a word was intimate to my sense of self. My first year was a gift of certainty that arrived from recognizing potential in my struggle against uncertainty. In pledging to keep an open mind I embraced the word Open to guide me in my actions as I welcomed a year marked by change. The second year my word came from a place deep within and I could not shake its presence; Be formed on my tongue effortlessly inviting a stillness of presence that served me well this past year in moments of perseverance. This year my word came in my daughter’s voice, filling the silence with Joy.

Let me back up a moment to honor the story behind choosing and claiming this year’s word. In December I began exploring words, eventually testing possible choices in carefully constructed lists hoping to stumble upon a word that would speak to my heart. Unhurried I accepted the silence and revisited past words to map my experience. I immediately recognized themes of presence in past choices that honor my natural tendency toward reflection. In an effort to challenge myself with a new path I labored lovingly over a list of unfamiliar words, seeking the proverbial needle in the haystack. In the quiet morning hours on the last day of the past year, I read each word aloud sounding out a sense of self. I listed words I wanted to claim, beautiful words and uncomfortable words. On the eve of the New Year there was no one singular word that spoke to me.

Desperate and dutiful to the timeliness of this endeavor I looked to my family for inspiration. My husband sifted through words patiently and thoughtfully, choosing Embrace. The word resonated with familiarity and I pushed against its comfort. My daughter, without pause, said Joyful. In as much as I celebrated her perspective the word felt false in its exuberance. The certainty of my daughter’s voice was matched in equal measure by my unspoken uncertainty, but the disparity between our perspectives gifted me space to invite Joy to play a greater role in the year to come.

Embracing Joy felt like upending a box of crayons onto white paper and so I grabbed my pen and scribbled it against the emptiness of the New Year. My daughter’s voice spelling out a new challenge.

joy

January 1, 2014 § 15 Comments

In the sleepy contentment of a New Year still drowsy with memories of last year, I am writing the word JOY into my calendar.

I am sweeping out the cobwebs of worry that suffocate light and making room for the uncomplicated company of wonder.

I am recognizing the potential in new opportunities over the threat of harm in the unknown.

I am making myself vulnerable to each experience and finding strength in tenderness.

I will move into this year marking the landscape of change with joy.

I will look first to ability over insecurity and see possibility in spite of adversity.

I will stand present in simple delights hidden in the noise of busy days, embracing each moment.

I am setting my heart and mind to mark the passage of days to come with joy, welcoming the New Year with resolve.

home for the holiday

December 30, 2013 § 4 Comments

It happens each year, a quiet day invites my attention inward and I begin tucking away pieces of the holiday and cleansing out the congested corners of our home to ready our threshold to welcome a new year.

I started with the Christmas clutter, knit stockings now empty and paper wreaths formed of tiny handprints. I left the Nutcrackers that our holiday spirit might linger beneath their tireless watch and stowed away our ornaments. I gathered the holiday books into a bin and corralled my children’s colorful collections of beloved seasonal trappings. Soon the surfaces of our home were open and I welcomed the space that seemed to invite change.

Inspired I began to explore neglected nooks for forgotten trimmings tucked sleepily into my favorite hiding spaces. Unhurriedly I gave time where I previously had none, sweeping out the spaces whose weight pushed against my patience consuming time and energy.

By afternoon I had engaged my family’s help as we turned our attention toward each child’s room, sifting through unused evidence of old interests to make room for favorite pastimes and new pursuits. Beneath uncluttered workspaces we preserved room for creative endeavors and classroom assignments.

There is still much to be done, like a living creature our home grows to absorb our distractions and we are inconsistent in our care. For now I am merely inviting room for change and hoping to greet the New Year with space for possibility and time for adventures yet undetermined.

in passing

December 31, 2012 § Leave a comment

I like to imagine I have met some of you in the easy happenstance of sharing a seat on a train to nowhere in particular, our thoughts mingling with other travelers’ in easy conversation. From my window I can see the world outside pass by and I craft stories to accompany the figures. Then the train slows, I gather myself to join the fray of activity. In these moments between movement I construct expectations, shifting from stillness, following a direction that invites momentum.

So too as this year comes to an end I gather myself, moving seamlessly from old to new as the minute hand dances round the clock sweeping us into the future while holding us in the present; strangers and friends tethered by strings of thought that hang delicately in the air between us.

As eagerly as I presented my ticket, mapping a journey of intention, I turn the page of my calendar inviting life to unmarked days ahead. I carry my lessons in preparation for new experiences and marvel momentarily at the boundless possibility of days yet unwritten. Travelers and time move forward, goodbyes and greetings overlapping as our paths intersect. To my fellow travelers, may the New Year welcome your hopes and dreams with generosity, your fears and troubles with compassion, your joy and peace with harmony.

be

December 26, 2012 § 1 Comment

I write about stillness, invite the concept into my consciousness, absorb its peace, and prescribe its healing powers. This year as I endeavor to name goals, or perhaps hopes, for the coming New Year I realize my greatest wish has little to do with increasing, decreasing, eliminating, or adding. Rather I want merely to be.

Present. Peaceful. Still.

I want to worry less about the next moment and invite myself to simply accept each moment at face value. I don’t want to dwell in worries or fears for my son’s challenges. I don’t want to measure my daughter’s growth academically gauging success against failure. I don’t want to limit romance to date nights with my husband or family time to specific activities. These measurements suffocate the air from living, leaving us grasping greedily for something outside the moment we are in.

This is not to say I do not have concrete goals. My life needs priorities and structure as much as it craves happy surprises, but this year I cannot confine needs and wants neatly to numbers.

This year I acknowledge my old list is ever-present, my resolve reaffirmed, my intent condensed to One Little Word. Be.

greeting the year

January 1, 2012 § Leave a comment

I woke today with a full heart eager to begin anew, curious for what lies unwritten on the pages of a new year. Joy and contentment accompanied my first cup of coffee in the quiet of the early morning. Wishes freckled my consciousness; time with my family, opportunities for play, and moments of reflection lie in wait on this sleepy day. Faith in possibility and anticipation for the year ahead guide me. Good morning, New Year. Let the day begin.

open

December 30, 2011 § 5 Comments

A close friend and I were exchanging messages this morning over our word choices for the 2012 One Little Word project on Ali Edwards blog. I could hear the strength of my friend’s selection through the lines of her message. I shared my uncertainty, pledging to remain open.

I wrote briefly today about this exercise in choosing one word to embrace the New Year. Then I set aside my laptop and busied myself with other projects attempting to remain untethered to a blinking cursor, dismissing a self-imposed pressure to make a choice.

Later, in a frivolous moment of quiet, I began to read familiar blogs. The word open seemed to wink at me from another’s sharing. Its four tiny letters eclipsed the other words as I read, beckoning me to look closer.

Tucked inside my friend’s earlier messages today was a quote. The universe is conspiring in your favor. She had been sharing a beautiful sentiment that spoke to her, but I was reading tiny markers coded in personal meaning.

Open.

Perhaps my word is claiming me, gently directing me; challenging me to open my mind and heart to possibility. Asking me to be receptive to outside influences. Inspiring me to embrace life, love, forgiveness, change. Calling me to step outside a place of comfort and permitting me space to try new things and take action.

I am reminded of two quotes I wear close to my heart on simple silver charms:

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Emerson

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined. Thoreau

Open up, draw strength from within, and move forward with confidence towards your heart’s desires. Open; a small unpretentious word that seems to stretch endlessly encompassing unlimited possibility.

Where Am I?