Well here we are in December and like many of you 2020 was not the year I expected.
My word for 2020 was "Create" and as I started to lean into the year I felt absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing. A dear coaching buddy and I were chatting one day and as she listened to my woes she said, "Jen you need to create space to actually create...you have been creating space"...she was right. They say boredom is the muse for creativity and I partly agree with that, the other muse for my creativity is observation. I love just watching the way life unfolds, how I respond or react, and what I do with that experience.
This year I created a feast for my husband's 60 th birthday party, I created memories, I created a wonderful vegetable garden, I created a youtube series called The Wisdom of Women. I created space for a course on Canva, a graphic design software which led me to create my own online course called "From Overwhelm to Self-Acceptance. After the horrific murder of George Floyd I created an online circle (with 15 white women) to study "Mindful of Race," a book by Ruth King. I created time to advocate for social justice for the Aboriginal people and asylum seekers in detention centres as well as practicing my non-binary language to support the trans/non-binary community. I created time to sit in a virtual circle with 6 other Australian women and came away with some beautiful new friendships. I enrolled in a menopause course with the Red School and found a listening partner who lives in New Zealand.
I also created time to start up my weekly oracle readings again, which are a source of such joy for me and just as the year was coming to an end I signed up for a course on "How to publish your own oracle card deck"with Laura Bowen. This is pretty much a dream come true for me and I am now deep into the creation phase as I paint all of the images for my cards.
I also created space to take a retreat in Iluka for a week, I whisked my husband away for a few days camping at Woodyhead, and I became a model for my daughter's final costume design project...see the above photo.
There were challenges too, a daughter who lives in the UK who we miss terribly, a holiday cottage in Scotland that had many cancellations and a new maintenance team. A root canal treatment, a goat death, a few gnarly symptoms of menopause. Two dear girlfriends faced really tough challenges. A friend asked if I would consider adopting her niece and I felt the gravity of that request deeply. I also had to make some fierce boundary adjustments to ensure my nervous system felt supported and safe. And yes we had Covid 19 and all of the challenges that came with that.
So as I reflect on my year I can see that whilst there were many challenges there were also so many joys. I would truly encourage you to reflect on your year so you can mine all the gems you experienced, the treasure we tuck away to boost our systems as we ready ourselves for the year ahead.
Thank you for all your support. Whether it is a comment here and there, a reading or a session, if you have sat in circle with me or just been an observer and cheerleader, thank you for your time and attention.
I wish truly wish you a wonderful holiday season and the very best of wishes for a peaceful and joyful New Year.