As we bid farewell to 2013, it is like sealing a time capsule and sending it off into space. I look back and choose the favorite photographs and creations, and compile them into a neat grid and say, this was 2013. This is it, this is my energy bottled…I look at it and then let go. Loaded with feelings, my heart becomes lively and I verge on emotionalism. Not in a teary way, and not in a joyous way, but in that strange space in between of just sitting and saying, this was my life, it is now my past, these are now my memories. The end of a calendar year, like a birthday, is a marking point, and a time of reflection. Which for me this year, was bright and creative, filled with natural beauty.

2013 was a particularly artistic year. I never dreamed it would be so, it just happened. I felt like I creatively blossomed in May with the cherry blossom cap. I have always been creative, but something shifted, and this year I felt put into the light, and it set me free. Perhaps it was starting work with Papier Mache Magazine, or perhaps it was just the stars aligning. Either way, this led to a feast of artistic indulgence in nature’s treasures. Flowers, leaves, and sticks became my medium, and with a camera in my hand at all times, my natural inclination to document reached new heights. Inspired by the imagination and beauty of my daughters, and the magical seasonal changes out my window, my hands just had to make, and I just had to take photos.

Some wonderful things happened this past year, which at this point are still seeds. What you see in the pictures above are to become seedling in 2014. This I am excited about! For the first time I have entered a space of being more confident in my capabilities. I am so open now and it is flowing so beautifully. I don’t think I was ever particularly closed, but I lacked confidence, or maybe luck, or I was just not in the right space. When the confidence arrived, it changed other things in our life too, I started homeschooling the girls after years of not being brave enough too. Now I look back and think how silly I was to worry. I am a capable woman (although I think I will always be terrible at spelling!).

Something so liberating about being a near 40 year old woman, having lived enough to have learned, while still young with energy and vitality. My focus, or word for 2014 is dedicated. In 2014 I hope to be dedicated enough to an idea that I constantly act on it. One can have all the ideas in the world, but unless one acts on those ideas, nothing ever comes of it. Think and do. What makes one feel like doing something, why dedication of course. I have found that the best way to stay dedicated, is to love what you do. If there is love in it, then dedication just happens.

With the new day tomorrow, shall start the new year. I am bursting with excitement and the possibilities of 2014. I am setting myself no new year resolutions, and having no expectations on myself other than to be dedicated. Wishing you all a wonderful New Year.