Usually at
the end of the year I do a bit of a recap on the past year and a forward look
to the new one, but 2016 has pretty much left me exhausted and I am thoroughly
done with it.
About a
year ago I was full of ambitious plans and ideas and looking forward to working
on all of them, but then...well...then life. You remember life right? That
thing that happens while you're busy making other plans? Let's just say life
happened a lot in the past year.
Things
varied from stuff breaking down in my house, health issues, other people's
health issues, people even dying, unexpected unpleasant surprises around every
corner, tiny injuries, things going wrong with either me or people I care about,
to stress about a neurotic new cat, a true cancer epidemic all around me and a
lot of tiny little annoyances, grievances and setbacks of a more practical
nature that in themselves were no big deal but they piled up sky high.. Let's
just say this year started with my molar breaking off during my vacation and my
diabetes getting out of control and ended with a leakage in my bathroom and
Spooky having an injury in his eye that meant I had to take him on a nine hour
round trip to the main land to see a vet the day before Christmas. And in
between there was a lot more fun. And don't even get me started on national and
international events! Sigh...2016, stop already!
Going into
2016 I chose the words 'Live Softly' as my theme, but life basically gave me a
case of 'And The Hits Just Keep On Coming'. By July I was so done with things
that I even took a blog and (mostly) art break for a whole month and at the end of the
year I basically just didn't feel like making any plans at all. No themes, no
word of the year, no nothing. And I am wonderfully okay with that.
Looking
back on my blog, Instagram and Facebook and my own memories of course there was
plenty of good stuff in 2016 and I don't look back on it as a horrible year,
just a rather tiring and relentless one. In fact I think the one thing that
keeps me going in general is my ability to see good and beauty around me and to
keep my eyes open for those things. Photography and art are good ways to stay
focused on the better things in life. Without them I would be lost. The journal
helped me vent, my pattern drawings and morning art helped me meditate and calm down, my
walks cleared my head, and good people made me laugh. I had some wonderful
trips and vacations to get some perspective and I got so much sweet stuff in
the mail (both snail and e-) from all of you. Thank you.
Still, for
the next year I am plan free, and that is exactly what I need. I have quoted a
Vonda Shepard song (Maryland) in my journals regularly that I would like to quote here
too:
I've been
thinking
I've been
thinking I've been thinking too much
I just want
to live now for a little while
and cast my
dreams to the wind
That's basically it. I just want to live now for a little while and not set goals or intentions, make plans or have ambitions. I basically just need to let myself be. And strangely enough it's a very comforting thought to give myself permission to do this. It basically comes down to just enjoying the things I enjoy doing and of course I will share them with you on the blog and social media, because sharing these things makes them visible to myself and I have a tendency to get lost in my thoughts sometimes and lose my way. If I do have any intentions it is to explore my own joy and enjoy my explorations. That's all, that's enough.
Wishing you all a
wonderful and artsy 2017!