Previously posted on pullingearth.substack.com. Dec 31, 2021.

Happy holidays everyone! I hope you are well and enjoying the season. I will be posting everyday this week to ensure my days are purposeful and reflective. Join me! Let me know what you are doing to slow down and just be.

I am up early to review my year. Nothing big or organized, just a quiet walk. I take stalk of the horizon and see what catches my eye to sketch. It’s a barren landscape right now at the end of December, but when my eyes settle I find some surprising things: ripples in a small stream, bird prints in the newly fallen snow. And then a few deer frolicking in the field a hundred feet away. A wonder.

Funnily, I choose this dried weed to sketch. I am drawn by the protective cages the sprigs create. I emphasize the closer branches with dark lines. Each crumpled bloom reminds me of fireworks bursting to protect the inner sanctum. What’s in there? What’s the precious cargo?

My thoughts turn to what resides at my true centre—ideas, loves, fears, regrets. I’m puzzled at why I protect my fears. I decide it is a mix of knowing oneself or not, overcoming this fear of being known and letting go. A constant work for the coming year—to learn and release.

Happy New Year!