Next year’s words (plus: happy holidays!)

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” T. S. Eliot

Here we are at the end of another year.

Whether the holidays make you feel peaceful or tense or some combination of the two, we’re entering a new year soon and I’d love to find the celebration in that.

I like the Eliot quote above in that next year’s words await another voice separate from our present reality, a voice that we haven’t yet experienced. I imagine that each of our new voices uses the previous year as a foundation, collecting all of our mistakes and joys and memories and loves to guide more seasoned versions of ourselves into existence.

Here I am prepping the little Explore painting for its new home!

I’m drawn to this perspective because there’s more room to explore the wide range of emotions most of us feel around the holidays: the happiness of course, but also the sadness or nostalgia or breathless stress that stems from too much to do.

One of my all-time favorite reminders

What I want is for each new year to feel like a gentle expansion that builds on the previous year’s lessons and brings renewed hope to our hearts regardless of how we left the previous year.

I want to enter 2017 without planning the usual life overhaul that I’ve tried so many other years. Instead, I want to create space for the song my 2017 voice wants to sing, then I simply want to keep painting and experimenting and exploring and living.

My word of 2017 is CREATE. Having a word of the year has been a fun practice over the past few years as I’ve found that my word frames the perspective I have heading into January.

CREATE leaves lots of room for possibility: new artwork, connections, friendships, ideas.

On a personal level, I also want to create the time to love on this little family of mine so so much.

It’s been an exciting and totally exhausting few weeks of getting SO MUCH art out the door (thank you!), and I’m beginning to relax a tiny bit now that the holiday rush is slowing down for another year.

Happy holidays and a beautiful new year from my family to yours.

Here’s to the year we’re leaving behind and the year we’ve yet to begin. I’m wishing you so much peace and comfort and I’ll see you in 2017!

All my love,