Happy 2010

a fresh start
(calendar and illustration by Eleanor Grosch)

May 2010 be filled with peace, joy and laughter. May the path to your dreams unfold and the gifts of acceptance and curiosity appear when it veers into unexpected directions. May a thirst for adventure fuel your soul, may moments of stillness bring you back to your Center. May the presence of kindred spirits warm your heart. May the knowledge that you are loved be with you always.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Steph :)
xo

December Views: Final Instalment

I had intentions of sharing my lists and year-end reflections with you today, but alas it will not be. These types of things are not to be rushed.

Instead I share with you my final instalment of December Views - a spontaneous and new-to-me experiment that turned out to be very enjoyable:

icy green

icy blue

a feast of roast beast

Sheba - one of two munchkins (aka ewoks or beasters)
that bunked at our place for a few days

Sheba up close & personal

morning coffee reflection

Yule Is Come, Yule Is Gone

"Yule is come and Yule is gone,
and we have feasted well;
so Jack must to his flail again
and Jenny to her wheel."
- proverb gleaned from the 2010 Old Farmer's Almanac

Last night I bought three 2010 calendars and a day planner. I love the crisp feeling of a blank grid waiting to be filled with insights, projects and experiences don't you? It brings back times of yore when I gently fondled my back-to-school notebooks, geometry sets and sweet smelling pencil cases.

It's a blank canvas waiting for next year's living masterpiece. What colours will I choose? Will my brush strokes be smooth and calm or disjointed and agitated - or will it be a mixture of both? Will lines be clearly defined or will they be absent, allowing textures to blend seamlessly into a harmonious whole?

It's a visual prompt to dream, create and start anew.

In this week's post-Christmas stillness I am allowing myself to slow down and breathe. I practice letting go of tension accumulated during the previous weeks' holiday rush with its preparations, fluctuations and expectations. I make room for silence and reflection, for dreams and ideas to come forth and energies to replenish.

Soon it will be time for lists and recaps and year-end declarations, and if there's anything this nerd loves more than a crisp new calendar it's a bulleted list! But before I break out the project plans, the bubble charts and return like Jenny to my wheel, I think there's a little more ruminating and gestating of ideas in sight - or maybe a little more feasting.

December Views: Week 3+

I've been silent these days - mentally taking stock of the year past, pondering projects for the year to come while trying to balance it all out with living the here and now.

I suspect I'll touch on some of it here during the next few weeks, but for now I leave you with another set of December Views...

sweet clementine

when elephants fly...

sunny morning comfort

sunny morning comfort II

Mémère's apron

another meat pie miracle
(read about the first one here)

Happy Solstice

The Winter Solstice holds a place dear to my heart. Last year I crafted a countdown of blog posts to mark the days up to the 21st in the form of Solstice Reflections (think a Solstice version of the Advent calendar).

At one point during my spiritual journey to December 21st, D. asked me "Why the Solstice?" A good question indeed. Here's what I replied on December 19th, 2008:

"These three weeks are turning out to be a spiritual journey leading to personal transition - a transition mirroring Nature's own shift from darkness to light. The questions explored and insights received are preparing me for the year to come, helping me shift from an internal to a more outward focus as I welcome 2009.

The new year is when I set out fresh intentions about who I want to be, what I'd like to do and how I'd like to go about doing it. These past few weeks will help shape those intentions.

So why the urge to have this correspond to the Winter Solstice?

Timing is one thing I guess - it conveniently takes place at the end of the calendar year. Connection to all things Nature is another. There's something comforting about timing my personal transition to Mother Nature's; it connects me to something universal and grants me the perspective I need to think beyond my ego. Finally, it just feels right."

Happy Solstice to you all.

Steph
xo

December Views: Week 1

Inspired by Hippy Urban Girl's December Views, I offer you a post of images captured during this first week of December...

enjoying the sun

iron footing

testing, testing

Solstice sun

Mémère's treasures

Festive Mannie

swinging Simpsons on chandelier

An Early Holiday Message

The holiday season is a tricky one to navigate and sometimes ideals get lost in the shuffle, but thankfully there are people who keep reminding us to keep trying. And as long as we keep trying that's what counts right?

I'm not a religious person (raised Roman Catholic, haven't practiced in years), but the message in the video below transcends religion in my eyes. It captures the simple living principles I've been trying to live by for the past several holiday seasons.

A big thank you to Jenica for leading me to it. I like it. I want to share it here: