In Hope of 2016
Last year’s collage for the year was so helpful, that I quickly decided this was my new annual tradition. Instead of waiting for the drive down to Florida, I recycled throughout the year and then took a folder of just this year’s magazine images with us. Of course I had more magazines to recycle on the way. But I spent a lot less time on this project with a little advanced prep work. And I am excited with the result.
So far, I see a few familiar images in my everyday life. The top image reminds me of the joy of riding my scooter while in Florida. Plus the rainbow of colored pens remind me of a pack of markers I have been carrying around to use my 2016 Spark Notebook, which I love. And while a little farther along in the sequence, my current journal has a honeycomb pattern on it.
I am eager to see what the year will bring. This isn’t really a vision board in the traditional sense. I am not using this to manifest a new house or jewelry. I just really love the mystery of it and being open to the Divine weaving its way through my life.
One thing that’s different from last year. There is a lot less clutter in the spread. I didn’t use nearly as many pictures and few tucked behind layers. Granted while I was in Florida, I devoured Clutter Busting. While I love the #KonMari Method, this book gave me the additional push to really clear stuff out. After an intense fight involving I-95 traffic, Henry actually thought I was moving out as I began to ruthlessly purge the bookshelf.
As for 2015, I saw the following images pop-up in my life:
- I really started the year struggling between my business side and artist side.
- I spent a lot of time tapping and getting to the source of issues in February, which is like making someone new.
- I will never include another Saint, like Saint Lucia, because she protected BOTH of Oliver’s eyes this year. (Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)
- His forehead and eyelids were scalded on my birthday and we went to Brenner’s to make sure he could see. He had a small tear drop burn out of one eye. But he is completely fine with negligible scarring on his forehead where we tried to add a band-aid. Big mistake.
- Then one morning while I was standing with him, he sliced the cornea of his other eye with a steak knife, which he had pulled out of the silverware drawer right underneath me. I cussed like a sailor! (Second child!) It was healed by the next morning.
- I was advised to call someone from Knoxville (the upside-down globe), although I never did. Then in Florida, I met someone from there, as well.
- I remember seeing the three lights from outside of the Walnut Cove Community Center after I spoke out on fracking and coal ash. (Plus I added three paper lanterns in my studio that I can see from my kitchen window, which is a dream-come-true, of sorts.)
- I sort of got stuck on the center spread of the Maira Kalman dream painting. But as I type this, I realize that I got stuck on a dream of a cast of characters in my own life.
- And out of nowhere I started something totally new.
- I saw the Star of Bethlehem and decided that, of course, I was The Magi. (See dream sequence above.)
- I played with my kids and we rode our scooters.
- I fantasized about painting when I am 90.
- And the big bouquet of flowers ended up being the Chinese Herbs that I started taking around the end of the year for my Kidney Yen deficiency. These floral roots made me feel SO much better.
- I had really hoped that Belews Creek would be identified as a high priority clean up site, just like the reclaimed river from New Jersey at the end of this collage. That didn’t happen. I hope this old man doesn’t mean I will be working on it until I am his age.
But I DO feel freer now. And I do believe it is the thought that counts.
So… that’s why I thought it would be worth making another collage for this year.
And how do I hope to end 2016? I aim to end on a positive note! Yes! Yes! Yes!
As an aside, I am going to TRY to start blogging again, but I am not making any promises or setting any goals. I am supervising a playdate, which has led to this post.
