The path through Christmas

So Christmas is over, and Im feeling quietly relieved. From October there has been an onslaught of in-your-face marketing and advertising for all things Christmas, and it feels like time is fast approaching to put the fairy lights and baubles back into their boxes for another year - to refresh the house, take a big deep breath and welcome the approching new year.

Christmas here was spent with my family, and was as usual over laden with the usual expectations that accompany this season. Christmas is never perfect, its messy, there are quiet difficult parts, there are frustrations and this year we spent the day looking after our little girl who became ill, eventually driving into the city to see the oncall doctor at the hospital.

Shes getting better now, but this year Ive opened my eyes wide in more ways than one. Ive allowed myself to just let this day come and go without pinning too much on it, to just let it do its own thing, to gather with family if it feels right, to eat good food and celebrate being together. Its about giving and receiving, but I also know its important not to get caught up in the commerciality of it all, to make time for myself - to sleep, read in bed, drink lots of water, take long deep baths and relax, to keep the true meaning in mind.

And so, it feels like time to open up to new opportunities, test a few boundaries by trying something different...Its time for sitting quietly with new ideas, mulling on them until they feel ready to make real...but its also a time to take a few tiny risks, to promise to do something if not wildly, then mildly radical this year. Its time to grab this life by the hand and vow to dance heartily with it - to look at it with new eyes and embrace all it has to offer us.

Right now in this moment, Im everything I need to be, but with every minute that passes, as more seconds of my life unfurl I am aware that time is passing and that I need to start taking more chances. It would be so easy to hold onto the habits that feel comfortable to me, to carry on living in a way that is familiar but to achieve our dreams we have to be prepared to take a leap of faith into new territory.

This year, Im going for it.

How about you?

Im promising myself new art and sacred creativity time each week, and biggest of all, Im gifting myself with courage to send much more of my art out into the world.

What do you hope to achieve this new year? What are your goals, dreams and desires?

We are everything we wish to be, right now...are you happy with that? If not, what can you do to change that, to be what you truly want to be?

Make a promise to take tiny steps towards achieving what you desire in this life - anything is possible.

Sending huge arm-fulls of inspiration, love and joy to you

J x