Saying Goodbye to 2021 and Welcoming 2022 with EASE
Wednesday morning dawned with a blowy, snowy storm. Most mornings after breakfast and coffee I start my day with a walk. Usually for about an hour. On workdays Matthias and Fiona set off with Clara and me before we part ways, Matthias and Fiona to the shop and Clara and I back to my studio. When we ask the girls if they want to “go walkies” we’re answered with wiggles and dancing. Wednesday morning, too. Until Clara stepped out the door and remembered it was snowing. I encouraged her down the driveway and along the sidewalk. At every chance she’d try to sit down or turn around while Fiona charged ahead. After a couple of blocks, Clara and I turned around. She led the way back home, practically running. I was out of breath with laughing by the time we raced up the back stairs and in the door.
The beginning of a new year often feels like this to me. I dance with excitement at the anticipation of a fresh start but then want to turn back to my cozy bubble of contemplation and dreaming when I open the door to the pressures and overwhelm of January 1st.
I’m being overly dramatic, I know. And I can laugh at myself just as I laughed at Clara zooming back home from the snow.
I do think, though, that it’s easy to give in to the pressures of January and to begin to feel discouraged before the year has a chance to get going. December ends and January begins and we ascribe to an expectation that we’ll immediately begin doing and accomplishing.
Why don’t we give ourselves a bit of time and space? Everything doesn’t need to be figured out on January 1st.
I relish the chance for planning and dreaming and setting intentions, but I also try not to give in to the need to rush. My word for 2022 is EASE and I’m happy to be easing into the new year.
Last year I wrote in my journal:
“It’s interesting looking back, thinking about my intentions for each of the previous years. In some ways, yes, I always fall short. In other ways it’s beautiful to see all I have accomplished and to dream about all I still want to accomplish… Perspective is everything. The chance to shift my perspective is one of the things that’s so beautiful about the new year.”
I didn’t do a year in review on my blog for 2020, but I’ve been spending time looking back at 2021 and didn’t want to burst into the new year without taking a moment to celebrate all the good of the last year. 2020 was challenging and stressful. 2021 was challenging and stressful. 2022 is beginning with challenges and stresses. As I start this new year I don’t want to focus on the negative. I want to look forward with hope just as I want to look back with grace and love.
Here are some highlights from my year:
Being interviewed on the Craft Industry Alliance Podcast.
Releasing a fun, new Skillshare Class.
Beginning in April, doing monthly garden “tours” on my blog.
Art shows at the Viroqua Food Co-Op and Viva Gallery in June and at the McIntosh Memorial Library in December.
Releasing my first embroidery pattern and kits.
Writing for 2 Million Blossoms Magazine’s summer and autumn issues before they ceased publication.
Adopting Fiona.
Teaching in the Year in Color Summit (the free sampler is coming back this month, so stay tuned!).
Collaborating with Kickapoo Meadery to create paintings for their mead labels.
Releasing my 9th yearly desk calendar.
Collaborating with Roots and Refuge Farm to create a collection of stickers.
We also went on vacation for the first time in quite a while and were able to get together with family and friends.
It was a beautiful choice. And when I returned to it later in the year with a renewed sense of purpose, it continued to guide me.
I am hopeful for 2022. I know nothing really changes when the calendar turns from December to January, but if nothing else, I’m happy for the chance to pause and reflect. And for the opportunity to shift my perspective. Yes, like Clara seeking refuge from the snow, I might be tempted to linger in the in-between.
I won’t stay here for long. Looking back at all I accomplished in 2021 makes me eager to tackle the projects I have in mind for 2022, but slowly (as I mentioned in my Joy Letter this week, there’s no rush), mindfully and with EASE.
I hope your year is off to a good start. That you’re taking time to reflect and plan and savor. That you’re treating yourself with grace and love. And if you’re choosing a word for the year I’d love to hear what it is.*
*I share my past words of the year in this post along with some tips and ideas for choosing your own.