I can't believe I neglected to write a single blog in 2022.  Or, I'd write something and then never get it published.  My word of the year in January of last year was "SEE", so it was not a physically active word but rather one of introspection.  My intentions and daily work had been to see things as they are and not as I wished them, OR "thought" them to be.  When we notice and take off our individual, societal and familial lenses, reality takes on a different hue.  We come to a fuller appreciation of the beauty and joy in our relationships and of ways in which we are connected to others rather than how we are different.  But SEEING is not always pretty.  We also notice our shortcomings and the places we get stuck. 

For me, those things included putting off my art-making time and allowing distractions of every sort to pull my attention from the work I wanted to be completing or starting.  

That said, I did make the momentous leap away from my full time job as a special education paraprofessional at a school 40 minutes from my home.  The commute alone ate up nearly an hour and a half of my time each day, amounting to another entire work day every week. And while the work was rewarding when I was able to help students succeed, it was also physically and emotionally challenging.  After doing it for 22 years, I felt drained, with little energy to do other things at home.  My own family helped me to SEE how depleted I was.  I needed to make a change.  

The summer went by with Covid preventing me from participating in some potentially high sales events, reminding me once again, that even the best plans do not always come to fruition.  Leaving school felt like a gigantic burden being lifted, a large door opening, but once faced with the necessity to really focus on my art, I was lost in a sea of too many ideas and lists of things to do that didn't always revolve around art at all. 

I found myself in a mindset of "I've got to get organized FIRST" or "I need more space for this project," but by SEEING these thoughts as habitual rather than factual, I have taken the first step toward gaining access to new ways of accomplishing my goals. I am creating a routine of doing at least a couple of things each day toward my art goals.  One of those things might be preparing work for a show or restocking my retail market venues. Another will be a daily practice drawing in my sketchbook.  The next step is to extend the time I spend developing my skills as an artist and creating new work. ie. TO SIT DOWN AND DO MORE!

Considering a "word of the year" for 2023, "Commit" is the winner.  It will carry the intention of sticking with daily/weekly practices and finishing projects.  

What is it that YOU want to accomplish in the upcoming weeks/year?  Perhaps a "word of the year" might help you focus and achieve some of your goals.  Let me know your aspirations in an email or comment.