“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” -Anais Nin
My word for 2017 is RELEASE, an unfurling of sorts.
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After the election this past November, and eating lots of sugar (which I normally don’t like), I worked my way through the shock and grief by stripping down to the essentials. What am I created for? Why am I on this planet? How can I make a difference in this nonsensical world? And I realized that I cannot do what I am created for or make a difference without remaining stripped down to the essentials. I am to release the extra so that I can do the necessary. You may get bored here. I’m going to list many things I’m releasing. It’s an exercise for my own growth. But perhaps you’ll identify.
- I release preconceived or ‘mirroring’ ideas of what my career as an artist should look like to be successful
- I release holding tight in my body, tension in my jaw and shoulders
- I release my thoughts and dreams, opening up to share them with others
- I release my voice concerning myself
- I release judgment, restraining and retraining my body and mind from judging others and myself
- I release wrongly placed goals or intentions
- I release ‘have to’s’
- I release fear of vulnerability
- I release habits that harm my body and spirit
- I release a clinging to safety
- I release my ‘go it alone’ attitude
- I release the idea that I have to chose and settle, that I have to have one focus
- I release the desire to fit social norms
The releasing isn’t waiting for 2017. It’s already begun. I am delirious with release and love and freedom and truth.
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“Instructions”
Give up the world; give up self; finally, give up God.
Find god in rhododendrons and rocks,
passers-by, your cat.
Pare your beliefs, your absolutes.
Make it simple; make it clean.
No carry-on luggage allowed.
Examine all you have
with a loving and critical eye, then
throw away some more.
Repeat. Repeat.
Keep this and only this:
what your heart beats loudly for
what feels heavy and full in your gut.
There will only be one or two
things you will keep,
and they will fit lightly
in your pocket.
-Sheri Hostetler
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And with that, I wish you all a revelatory and free 2017.
