Embrace 2009, photograph & magnets (within my Photograph) are a gift from my sweet friend Mermie. Artwork by Aya Takano.
It’s the last day of 2008 and I must say that I am more than ready to let it go.
Looking back, 2008 was indeed the year of “flight” for me. I just loved how the simple act of choosing that one word as my intention really set the tone for the entire year! It unleashed a powerful whispering at every step of the way, a sweet voice inviting me: “Come to edge, come to the edge”. And when I followed it, I flew. I flew with all my dreams, hopes and longings, soaring along with me, in a exuberant and transcendent way. I was shown once again the power of my wings!
Some of this year’s accomplishments included marrying the love of my life and having the most picture perfect barefoot wedding on a beach in Mexico. We had sixty of our closest friends and both of our families come together for the first time ever. This gathering of loved ones meant so much to me, as I had always wanted to unite both of our worlds. Then, there was Bali… It is always a good year when I get to go to Asia, my old crush! Sharing my passion for travel with my husband is something that moves me more than anything. Only after traveling with him, I really learned what it is like to feel the magic of deeply sharing an experience with someone. Needless to say, we had an amazing time surfing and photographing the lovely Indonesian people and sites.
On the friendship front, I was brave enough to show face this year! I finally put myself out there to meet all the “dangerous” suspects I admired from a distance, and I went on to meet several of my “online kindreds” in person too. This experience really cracked me open in many beautiful ways and helped me see and love myself in a much more tender way. With that instant bonding, I also finally recovered a sense of belonging to a community that I truly care about. (Thank you, lovers! You know who you are!). And if all that goodness wasn’t enough, the year’s gifts were topped with the fact that the long-awaited green card, slowly unfolded, allowing me to switch jobs along the way (after 10 years of being with the same employer due to an employment-based application), and eventually came through (Yes! I got my card a couple of weeks ago!). But go figure, the job switch was not enough of a change for me, so at the very end of the year, I found myself closer to the edge of an even higher cliff… In the horizon, the leap to pursue a new career and a more creative and balanced life! And guess what, dear readers? I am suspended in the air right now!
Oh my oh my… Aren’t we all glad 2008 is over? Cuz it was beginning to go too crazy on the “flight” idea! There is only so much my heart can take (Not to mention my husband’s heart!):P
Truth be told, with all the pushing forward in 2008, there were also many moments of stress, depression and doubt. What I did learn though, is that “yours truly” here is often the biggest obstacle. There seems to be a pattern in the way in which I react to life, choosing always the hardest way around. I am the one going in the river not to bathe, but to add rocks and resistance, to the endless and intense flow of life.
So here is the challenge for me in the year ahead: I’m going in the water and I want to let the current wash over me. Flood me if you will, 2009. I am now choosing the path of less resistance. I am choosing to “EMBRACE” all you have in store for me.
embrace
to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly
to take in with the eye or the mind.
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What is your word for 2009?
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Oh! And I almost forgot! I’ve been really busy with the blog redesign (sorry if you noticed that it’s been clunky lately)… But I meant to announce earlier this week, that the winner of Jen Lee’s delicious book and journal is Whitney! Congratulations, Whitney! You are in for a year of exquisite writing!
Thanks for playing, everyone. There will be more giveaways in 2009!
Happy New Year!
Archive for 2008
Embracing 2009
Gypsy Giveaway at Shutter Sisters!
Whidbey Tree, December Views, 2008.
I’m thrilled to announce that I am a guest blogger and hostess of a giveaway at the Shutter Sisters website today!
It would make me ‘oh so very happy’ to have you stop by at the Shutters Sisters site and leave a comment on my post there, for a chance to win and own one of my photographs! I’m offering an 8×10 matted photograph of your choice!
By the way, Shutter Sisters is having fabulous giveaways every single day in December! You still have time to win some amazing stuff! Check it out ~
And if you haven’t yet, leave a comment here for a chance to win Jen Lee’s book and journal “Don’t Write”! You have until Dec25th to participate!
Enjoy!!!
Winter Soup
Photo borrowed from ladybug on flickr.
HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY – Leave a comment on this post by Dec 25th to get a chance of winning a powerful journal, featuring inspiring writing and images from Jen Lee. Give yourself the gift of discovering the writer within you :)
“When my pen found paper, when it danced across the pages at first with stumbling steps, someone began to emerge – a Self – with whom I was unacquainted. Once I let her speak, her words would not leave me. She knew what she wanted, and many things in my life did not match. Hopes and dreams are not dessert, she said. They are bread and wine.” Jen Lee
When I first met Jen Lee, I had no idea that she was a talented writer. But I watched her glide by, in somewhat a meditative state, just observing, taking things in deeply. I was immediately curious about her. I could tell that she was processing everything, and that somehow, she would transform all that powerful energy into something extraordinary. I was right. She makes magic with her words. In her book and journal “Don’t Write”, she creates a safe harbor and a shelter for your writing practice. I guarantee that if you give it a shot, you will be forever changed.
I’m no exception. Ever since I found my way back to the page, I’ve developed a new kind appetite for life!
These days, when I’m not writing, my mind is much like an alphabet soup. I have all these thoughts and letters swirling around in my head, trying to form words and make sense of life. Until I empty myself of that kind of energy, I’m pretty much just floating around. I’m flying over the Earth, watching people go by their business, taking mental notes of places, smells, colors. I’m collecting recipes. I’m looking for just the right combination for what I want to say, for how I want to respond to the world.
If you know me, you can tell when I’m going through that phase, because you’ll try to have a conversation with me and I will be absent, distracted… I won’t be listening to you fully. I’m really sorry about that. You don’t deserve that lack of attention. I do know that it is actually quite self absorbed of me to do that. I should know better. I should know that I must write!
The interesting thing though, is that no matter how much I avoid the process, soon enough, the temperature rises, the creative juices start bubbling, boiling up, and the cooking starts. In this phase, I become a crazy cook, looking for all the right ingredients like a maniac. I’m connected and I’m focused. I’m insatiable for images, words, phrases, memories. I’m trying spices and deciding which one will work best for that particular flavor I’m after. Then I find myself before this generous pot of words. It takes my whole being to stir up all the sentences, all the ingredients that make for a feast of the soul. But my hand just keeps moving, stirring, until the aromas and warmth fill me with just enough joy and satisfaction. Just till I know that the soup has to be poured out and served.
You can eat it, if you like. For when the soup is ready, I’m done with it. The savoring for me, happens along the way. Writing is what feeds me. Only when empty, I can be full and alive in the world.
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Also, check out Jen Lee’s new CD with stories of Light in the Dark. This is the ultimate nourishment, peeps! Soulful storytelling for adults!
“Solstice: Stories of Light in the Dark” is a collection of six short stories that are poetic and poignant. They engage and inspire, weaving a tapestry of the theme presented in the first track: “We are all connected–even in the night.” Blending stories with sound effects and music, “Solstice: Stories of Light in the Dark” brings to life a new kind of myth for the digital world.
