I want to preface this with a note that I have been blocked for some time now, from placing my pen to paper and composing a piece I am proud to share with you. Partially, I have been searching – for the right words, time, and ability to truly express myself. The other part is that I have been putting forth more of an effort to live presently. Thank you for taking the time to read my work.

I’m not someone who believes that years end and New Year’s beginning is the only time for change; turning over a new leaf if you will. However, I do embrace that it is a time to be inspired by change. I like the concept, it’s uplifting and refreshing if anything. I have gone through many series of changes and transitions around this time, both mild and drastic. All of which have lead me to this very moment I am in now. I find myself once again in a state of flux, n.  “The natural state. Our moods change. Our lives change. Our feelings for each other change. Our bearings change. The song changes. The air changes. The temperature of the shower changes. Accept this. We must accept this.”

I find myself feeling a bit more introspective than usual, sometimes even reclusive. I enjoy my own company and my thoughts that coexist with these moments. I crave time alone, it’s pleasant, and for me necessary. It’s important to relax, reflect and recharge; taking advantage of the opportunity to better understand my  journey.

As I place my pen to paper or my fingers to the keys of my laptop, I am always surprised to find that I am continually being guided by my mind and not just simply what I thought I had figured out on paper or planned to publish. A soft reminder that it’s okay when things go unplanned. I am journeying freely in my own truth.

Many experiences along our individual journeys are unexpected. Sometimes the world tells us to be unshakable but that isn’t always for the best. Get shaken up, see where it lands you. You may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. If you’re not, accept the challenge with a firm handshake and a smile. Opportunity presents itself on so many platforms, often imparting you with a refreshing perspective. After all, “when nothing is certain, everything is possible.”

In times of uncertainty, we discover things about ourselves. Life is wondrous and change is inevitable. Try to view change as a release, not a restriction. If you open your mind and your heart, you will see that the end of one experience is just the beginning of something new and often sublime. These moments often disguise themselves as changes or transitions that seem scary, too good to be true, or somewhere right in the middle. If you truly follow your intuition, and mark my words, you will figure it out. In the words of Francis Chan, “let us be eager to leave what is familiar for what is true.”

It was my intention to leave you with words of my own, ones of wisdom, encouragement and love. However, yesterday, I came across the “wishes” of Neil Gaiman, an english author. I combined excerpts from his journal that I feel would be more valuable to leave you and and your year with. These are his “wishes”, but I too share these wishes with you, myself and 2017. Happy New Year.

Fifteen Years ago, I wrote:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

And almost a decade ago I said,

…I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

Half a decade ago, I wrote: 

And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it’s this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

And here, from 2012, I wrote:

It’s a New Year and with it comes a fresh opportunity to shape our world.

So this is my wish, a wish for me as much as it is a wish for you: in the world to come, let us be brave – let us walk into the dark without fear, and step into the unknown with smiles on our faces, even if we’re faking them.

And whatever happens to us, whatever we make, whatever we learn, let us take joy in it. We can find joy in the world if it’s joy we’re looking for, we can take joy in the act of creation.

So that is my wish for you, and for me. Bravery and joy.

…

Be kind to yourself in the year ahead.

Remember to forgive yourself, and to forgive others. It’s too easy to be outraged these days, so much harder to change things, to reach out, to understand.

Try to make your time matter: minutes and hours and days and weeks can blow away like dead leaves, with nothing to show but time you spent not quite ever doing things, or time you spent waiting to begin.

Meet new people and talk to them. Make new things and show them to people who might enjoy them.

Hug too much. Smile too much. And, when you can, love.