Hello creative friends & dream builders! It is the first post of 2013 so I wanted to share something special with you…
Yesterday Chris and I dropped our girls at my mama’s house in the city and drove home as the most magical moon I have ever seen was rising-instead of a night of champagne & sparkles we headed to the ocean and spent time talking about our intentions and predictions for the year. The moon was huge and sparkled off the water and the snow-pictures really don’t do it justice. I think it might have been our loveliest New Year’s Eve of all and was the perfect stage to step into a simpler and more confident year. For 2013 I decided to take my ritual of setting annual intentions for myself one step further and I whispered a prediction/blessing for all us and our happy, healthy year underneath that bright sparkling moon, it went something like this:
2013 bring us and all we love a year of happiness and health that feels like coming home-as if on January 1st we open the door to a fresh clean world waiting to welcome us with open arms. This year may we need less and have more-less need for affirmation, stuff, competition, franticness, and fear will make room for having more space, time, clarity, community, and abundance. 2013 probably won’t let us have it all or attain everything we desire but may it bring us what we deserve-to know we have value, our work has meaning, and that we are loved. Let this be a year of full tables, full hearts, friends and new experiences. May the more we give the less we need and the more success and dreams find us instead of having to chase them around. In this new year we will push past feeling any shame about our own unique gifts, we are done hiding our fabulousness, we are ready to go forth together and make beauty. When we are tired and the road feels long we will seek out friends to gather round and lend a hand. This year we are going to take the best of ourselves and give it to the waiting world.
Over the last three years I’ve watched so many of you working hard to live out your creative dreams and juggle responsibilities. I’ve seen you pushing through late nights and long days, the planning and prepping, the shouts of hooray and the tears of not-good-enough. I’ve witnessed you struggle, succeed, struggle, succeed, and been endlessly inspired by your capacity to begin again from nothing (what I believe is the true gift of being creative). I’ve also heard people lose their voices following trends or leaders and still others find their unique song and sound it out loud and clear. I’ve lost and found my own voice on this journey and been reminded to stay true to myself because of all the support and love you have given me. I have been so privileged that many of you have chosen to share your stories with our community in posts, comments, at our chats, and in private emails or conversations-thank you for trusting and sharing so honestly.
One thing that holds true for all our diverse stories- no matter how awesome our lives appear sometimes it can feel like a hard uphill climb and our dreams can be heavy to carry. But many hands make any load light and a long road seem like an adventure instead of a lonely climb. Without a doubt we do our best work and are happiest/healthiest when we work together! My wish to the moon is that during the next year whenever you feel like you need a hand, cheer, push, hug, laugh, or a resource to help you on your creative journey that you’ll be able to come here and find the support you need!
To propel us into this marvellous 2013 our theme for January is Happy Healthy Year-all month long we’ll be sharing posts on how we are planning happiness and health for ourselves and our businesses. Also please join us for the first #OMHG chat of 2013 this Thursday, January 3rd from 1-2EST for an hour of sharing plans and where we need support this year. I would love to know your dreams and plans! What struggles do you intend to leave behind or overcome? What does your happy, healthy year look like? What predictions or wishes would you whisper to the moon?
Lovely post Jess. Truly.
I am whispering to the moon to light the way to the path of least resistance. We made a few changes around our home this week that should have been so obvious. We removed obstacles we bumped into for a decade. Looking to do this in every corner of my world.
You are so wise Colleen! I am learning to value the path of least resistance-I’ve always leaned towards taking a harder or more complicated path and I’m learning there can be a powerful balance-I have more resilience when I carefully choose my hard roads & have cleared all the smaller obstacles out of the way!
Love this!! Many wishes for you in this upcoming year as well. To 2013!!
To 2013 & beyond Sarah! Happy everything to you!
Jessika – This is the best New Year’s post I have read so far. Honestly! It just sinks right in and is absolutely 100% what I want for this year too (although I couldn’t have been so eloquent). This is especially ringing true for me: “In this new year we will push past feeling any shame about our own unique gifts, we are done hiding our fabulousness, we are ready to go forth together and make beauty.” I finally know the direction I want to go with my work, and this is the year to take it to a new level of fabulousness and “me-dom.” My words for the year – CREATE & MAGIC.
Thank you for being such an inspiration! My life is so much richer because you and this glorious community are here. I can’t say enough thanks!
And I can’t wait for the chat Thursday!
@Kimberly I just love this comment! I am adding this to my inspiration wall: “My life is so much richer because you and this glorious community are here.” comments like that are food for my heart & soul-thank you! I bet you would be just as eloquent in your own post and hope you’ll write out your own 2013 plans/predictions to share with us:) Knowing the direction you want to go in is more important than almost any other piece-you can work yourself to crazy if you are doing work that isn’t a good fit-I hope 2013 is full to the top of creativity and magic for you (and all of us!). I’ve found that when I know where I want to go everything unfolds with so much more ease-I still have to work for it, but the work is more joyful:) Happy2013 and I’ll see you Thursday!
I love your Happy, Healthy Year motto, as that is similar to what we have developed as a family, especially the happy part for me. It has been an eventful year for us, filled with major changes and shifts. We look forward to a year of independence, self discovery and self sustainability!
This is lovely to read right now Jess when I’m sitting in bed after a small operation trying to fathom a way forward with my artwork and life in general next year. For me I am really struggling with pinning myself down to one path so I think I need to let myself off the hook a bit this year. Enjoy the exploration, plan better so I can fit in more rather than limit myself – that way clarity will come. Happy New year to you and I look forward to popping over here more often.
What an inspirational blog post! Thank you. After simmering over 2012, I was motivated to pen my five personal promises for 2013. They include forgiving AND forgetting, reading every single day, and hosting happy hour at home. (They can’t all be serious, right? Ha!) Blogging about my five promises also gave them a voice. Happy New Year!
After reading sooo many New Years Posts about goals and resolutions, this one was sooo refreshing. Thanks Jessika. By the way, I’m sending you my guest vlog today. I hope you like it. I’ll send it through the contact form so you can watch out for it. *crosses fingers.