"hope puts the color in the sky..."

From ucmoons.tumblr.com

"when did we get so careful? when did we lose ourselves? afraid, we fade out."

~matt nathanson

i've been drawn to that anias nin quote for years... the one when the "day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." and i keep finding it in my consciousness again these days. obviously, this is the new year, and i'm talking about revolutions here, so i've been thinking about what is the revolution that is honestly happening inside. for years, i've been drawn to this quote... for now, i'm feeling like i'm beginning to live it.

 i'm loving the stretch, the making room, the opening wide... i have to slow down a bit to let it all sink in. 

the past few days i've been sitting with books in my lap, and remembering what it feels like to turn pages, feel one side of the book go from thin to thick as i move through it. and that's what the greater part of my life is feeling like too... going from thin to thick as i move through it. when i'm sliding through my days, not paying attention, the ice feels thin, and ready to crack at any moment. but when i slow down and notice, my footing (even if it is ice), becomes thick and ready for anything.  

ucmoons.tumblr.com

i've been "tight in the bud" for about the right amount of time, i'd say. i've let myself grow into that space, and i've loved being there, and now i'm ready to surprise myself with whatever comes by peeking my head out of this handy little bud that has sheltered and nourished me. 

 ucmoons.tumblr.com  

the risk to blossom. it can feel like jumping into choppy seas. fragmented. it can feel like going backwards, to when you were young and tender and innocent, and naive. but it can also feel quite "grownup". i have a crowd of people around me like lifeboats filled with cheerleaders (how lucky am i!?!?). i have a love of salty water, and an innate ability to float. i have vision and verve, and know when i need to simply breathe. 

ready to risk the blossoming. ready to burst into a beautiful new day. 

you?

a revolution

From nadafarmlife.blogspot.com  

when it's cold outside, and there's a new blanket of snow on the ground, everything is frosted with glittering light and appears to be a blank slate... 

kind of like new year's day. today. 

and there's a part of me, on new year's day, that wants to hold this moment of perfect silvery clarity, and not touch it.

in the end, though, that's not my nature. my truth is to get out there and get into it. 

and of course, when you go out walking in the snow, what is just beneath it is revealed: smells of wet earth, crunch of dead leaves, color of anything but white. 

this is the revolution. 

no new year's reSOLutions this year. no, ma'am, i'll take the power of a reVOLution. i'll take the reigns of this beautiful year ahead, and ride it hard and happy!!

this year, i will walk out onto that white canvas, and enjoy the steps, enjoy the footprints i will make. finding the beauty laid out before me, finding the freshness that is every day. when i walk out into each day, i'll find all that is waiting for me. i'll dig in, and explore, and dare to be me. for although the footsteps may seem to mar the image of the freshly fallen and undisturbed snow, once they're there, they imply search, enjoyment, movement, appreciation. 

From tangiebaxter.typepad.com  

listening to our hearts can be challenged in the noise and abundance of december, but january~ oh sweet january is stark and simple. sitting in an empty room with nothing but light to keep you company; light and your heart beating gratitude, beating hot blood living, beating a rhythm that makes sense to your soul. and now you can actually hear it. oh, hear it!!! 


step out into this year with me. find that earthly musty muck from which we come, and where we will return, under your feet. feel it sucking you in. and remember it's from that mud that comes the spring growth... but for now, digest and enjoy the cold snap of reality that is present in the first day of the year. 

From abluekindofgreen.tumblr.com