My goal for my Christmas holidays was to avoid social media and focus instead on creative pursuits. I was seeking more self-care for my mental health and my general self. I wanted to plant the seeds of future habits to sustain that self-care.
I hoped it would have worked out differently. I had this idea of me sipping hot tea or coffee and writing, drawing, or painting. But, what I did was buy some pegboard and start reorganizing my office/studio, which is fair. Getting my space ready to create is the opening step in the dance that is my creative practice, and I feel deep contentment when I am in that room now.
It wasn’t all drywall dust and vacuums. I also stumbled upon a new idea for Comic Expo merch and wrote out some fun ideas for the comic. In the end, I think this break was good for me. Even if it wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned.
I came up with the astonishing idea (it’s groundbreaking, so brace yourself) that I'm making art for myself. I’m playing with sketches, colour and doodles and messing around drawing strangers at the library. It’s freeing and enjoyable and gives me the illusion of productivity when it’s all about making my brain happy.
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. But I do believe that each day is a new start to try and make that day better than the one that came before. Jason Mraz said in a song “May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows,” and that is what I am aiming for this year. Striving for better, for myself, one small increment at a time. Because lasting change doesn’t come all at once, it’s a single flower growing in an empty field, spreading its seeds in an audacious hope of filling every space with wildflowers over the years. I am planting my seeds this year. Aiming for growth and a harvest of joy in the future.
I hope this upcoming year brings you a bumper crop of all the good things you deserve.
I hope it does for me too.
Happy New Year.