I have two favorite holidays and the "new year" has always been número uno. (Those who know me well can guess the other.) Ever since I could grasp the concept of a fresh start or a new page or a second ( third and forth) do-over, I have been making lists and performing rituals to say good bye to an old year and welcome a new one. So if you are looking for art-related inspiration in today's blog, hit
delete NOW.
I am not talking about big noisy parties where you yawn waiting for the ball to drop and then have to hug people you don't even know. Nope, I much prefer those little home made ceremonies that you create with whatever inspires you at the time, that you perform only with like-minded individuals who fully respect what you are doing and engage with the reasonings. Many of these transitions involve fire of some sort (as in burning past mistakes, snuffing out old flames, lighting a path in the dark.....); most involve some writing and all require the setting of one or more intentions.
When I was young and idealistic I would spend days working on a list of New Years resolutions. I found one of those lists about 10 years ago stuck in an old book and funny, it looked like a list I should STILL be working on! Some things don't change....
When we were young newly weds we would make out three lists: mine, his and ours. And we would save them from one year to the next to discuss and laugh over.
Then we decided to eliminate lists but select an "adventure" for the year, something we very much wanted to do, out of the ordinary, that we resolved to put our energies, time and money toward making happen.
Sometimes we were successful, often times we learned to compromise with fate, other times we learned that disappointment is a fact of life. Still, we made up ceremonies to jointly bury the past year and welcome a new one.
Silly? Oh, I know folks who recoil from this sort of thing and are offended when I ask what they plan on doing with their brand new, fresh canvas of a year. So passé, they give me a look. But really, how to you get anywhere if you don't have an inkling of where you want to head? How can you live higher up that mountain if you don't look back and evaluate the valleys? I'm not one who waits patiently (sorry) for my ship or even my dinghy, to come in....nope, I'm swimming out to get it....or at least I'm clinging to a floater kicking hard and enjoying the attempt to get there.
Soooooooo, our ritual this year will involve some fabulous food paired with appropriate wine (chef selected) while we discuss 2014: the highlights, the lowlights, the successes, the little moments of pride we share with no one else, and of course the moments we wish we could do over. Sigh.
Then we will come home to a bottle of bubbly and "make public" our new word of the year. We are too old to make long lists, so we stole an idea from dear Cheri, the Patron Saint of Faeries. When this little bundle of red headed energy flew into our lives several years back she loaned us the custom of choosing ONE WORD as an intention for the year. Who can't remember ONE WORD? Which then informs everything we do. So simple, yet so difficult.
Of course we will make new lists...but these are of adventures we are planning, experiences we shall try and books we shall read.
We will light candles, we will build a bonfire to dispose of old artwork, old grudges, unneeded records and whatever else should not be present in 2015. We might wave around some white sage to clear the air of bad spirits and we may chant a few blessings into our hearts, say a prayer for loved ones.
When all is said and done and the coals are cold, we will embrace whatever 2015 brings with enthusiasm and energy. More than any other holiday gift (and I really am not a fan of christmas giving) the unwrapping of a NEW year has always felt special and reverent to me. Possibilities. Opportunities. Challenges.
So if you are still reading, you know it is with sincerity that I wish you a joy-filled RITUAL of leaving one year and mindfully walking, dancing or skipping into the next. Do it with mac and cheese and a bottle of cranberry juice, do it with filet and Cabernet......just do it.
And I promise to blog about art here forth. Happy 2015.
JoyFULLY yours,
Cindy
