Towards the end of each year I begin to plan the next. My birthday is 27th December and while others are nursing hangovers and distended bellies from Christmas, and perhaps planning seeing in the New Year, I’m huddled in my Cave, contemplating my life.
Honestly, 2011 was so good and so horrible in so many ways. I thought about a Retrospective Post, began writing it, and then was soooooooooo bored with my life last year, decided to trash it. Retrospectives are great for some, but not this little black sheep, and not this year.
Resolutions? Again, fine for some but not me. I love lists. I’m a manic list maker! I even have categories for my lists *sigh* but resolutions are a whole new psychological nightmare. No Resolutions.
So many years ago I discovered the ONE LITTLE WORD concept. Ali Edwards is one Mumma I admire. I’ve learned so much from her about organising my life and family and keeping personal stuff well, personal. She suits my style of sharing without revealing (digging the semantics yet?) Her OLW concept struck a chord with me and many, many others around the world and inspired a challenge blog (since finished). It’s a blueprint for how you can still have focus in your life without the need for a “To Do..” list.
MY WORD FOR 2012 IS
RISE
I felt that feedback the last few months has culminated in this word. The need to rise to the occasion, to rise early, to rise from the deep, to grow, to rise and shine, to be a light, to find my inner light and to rise and be the real me.
This word has already weaved its magic and is bearing fruit. I see my colleagues also reaping the benefits of hard work in 2011, despite a year of challenges and hardship. I am proud of our family’s resilience and our need to constantly re-evaluate our position in life. To say I am looking forward to this year’s opportunities and experiences is an understatement.
FEBRUARY – Brisbane Papercrafts Festival – teaching 3 workshops – wow
MARCH – Art-is-You, Sydney : brilliant opportunity! This is my “professional development” sabbatical of sorts. Total immersion and total liberation. (Sadly AIYS has been postponed until 2013, but another opportunity has presented itself – we shall see!)
MAY – Lake Macquarie. A chance to relax and unwind at a “scrapbooking” retreat, but my roommate is also a mad keen artiste so we’ll be in a noisy corner somewhere!
AUGUST – An opportunity to make more art at home following the “Birthday Season”. Perhaps another Collection.
Woven within all this is the continual doodling, painting, spraying, educating and general playing with all things arty and mixed media. It’s been a huge adjustment from the scrapbooking world of monthly challenges and deadlines and product releases and the removal of myself from that comfortable environment. I have struggled with being once again a Little Fish in a Big Pond – this time in the land of Mixed Media. It’s exciting and terrifying and I’m learning a lot about myself and the Brave New World I’ve leapt into (not drawing any parallels to Aldous Huxley’s awesomely creepy novel).
So I leave you with this question:
If you had nothing to fear, had a fab safety net to take the leap, and could rise and soar as far as you could go, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
Giovanna Scott artist 
I love the idea of “rise and shine” being your thinking for this year, great idea. At the craft show in a couple of weeks, I will ask you more about that and your alternative for missing the art-is-you retreat, I was going too….maybe next year.
cheers,
Pam
Beautiful Gi! I’m still contemplating what my word would be this year. Last year it was “endure”, but this year – it would be more positive than that. Perhaps “Phoenix”. Love ya!
Great post G. Sounds like you have a wonderful year planned out 🙂
I have leapt this year and am enjoying every minute of it so far. Amazing what a lifestyle change will do for ya 😉 t xxx
Love that Gi, what a beautiful positive start to the year. I hope 2012 is all that you want it to be and you rise in all areas of your life that you aspire to.