What did you learn from our last revolution around the sun?
If you’re like the rest of us mere mortals, I guess you’ve been on quite a spin.
And yet, here we are. Still creating, showing up.
Getting out of bed in the morning. (Yes, sometimes, that is the creative victory of the day.)
And do you know what amazes me? I’m (still) dreaming. And so are so many of you.
We have creative projects in mind. New books to write, new doodling or journaling habits to begin...or rekindle.
And I know how it feels to wake up in the morning, or in the middle of the night and to feel the enormity of this moment and to wonder how you’ll push this rock up the hill today.
And yet…
Our 2021 Creative community anthology is available in print!
Here I sit, leafing through our (first!!) Anthology--the physical manifestation of our creative endeavors this year. A tiny, brave book that is made of inspiration, hopes, and dreams (that often seemed unrealistic), community…
This light and hopeful collection is, as its title implies, just the Tip of the Iceberg. The tiny part of all our conversations, connections, scribbling, and doodling that poked its head above the surface.
Maybe if there’s one thing I have to say to you as we wipe the slate clean and face the blank page of January 2021 it’s this:
Keep dreaming up your creative projects--even if you don’t know where you’ll find the time.
Or the energy.
And if you feel that way, you know you’re not alone, right?
If we knew exactly how our tiny little dreams would play out, they wouldn’t be creative endeavors.
Give yourself permission to have no idea how you’ll get it done.
Give yourself permission to dream of something that seems unrealistic and then to take the tiny first step anyway.
And then, do something else for yourself in 2021:
Make reading, writing, creativity, and community what gets you through.
Do something creative for yourself.
Make it the 10-minute journaling session that changes your day--and as the days add up, your life.
Hunker down someplace warm and safe and silent and take shelter in the book you’re reading.
Or, if you’ve not got a book on hand...well, get one! These are our book picks for the first months of 2021.
Find a place you feel at home. Reach out to someone else who is made of reading, writing, creativity, and adventures of the written word.
Whatever it is, do that small thing for yourself, for your family…for the world.
Pick something tiny and do it again, and again...
When creative expression is an essential part of your life--an essential part of who you are,
When reading, writing and relationships that revolve around the written word are what get you through,
Whatever times you live in,
You’ll create beautiful things.
What are your creative dreams and projects for 2021?
Take a moment to dream as big as you need to.
Open up your journal to a new page--or grab a blank sheet of paper and turn it horizontal to remind yourself that the possibilities are limitless.
And if you’d like? Feel free to share in the comments.
(An example of the tiny creative journaling prompts I send in our bi-monthly newsletter)
Need a few gentle and doable reminders to keep dreaming, creating, reading, and writing in 2021?
Sign up for the newsletter to get all of our free creative journaling prompts, invitations for our upcoming book chats, and events.
Or join our cozy creative writing and journaling community where we give our permission to make tiny steps towards our creative undertakings--even if we have no idea where that will lead us. Together.