my word of the year for 2024 is TAPESTRY. and i’ll be saying more about what that’s meant for me closer to december’s end.
but i also chose what i called an auxiliary or secondary word >> VIBE. here’s how i characterized it in my head: a vibration that changes throughout the year to align with and adjust to my many mercurial moods. and guess what? it took on an almost alchemical dynamic – altering its shape to fit whatever emotional space, atmosphere, or situation i found myself in. fresh and energetic, in sync with my step, with a sense of releasing me. i checked in to assess my current VIBE from time to time (which ended up being close to quarterly).
so . . . how did i decide the way to describe my VIBE each quarter? well, at the beginning of the year (without even knowing the reason for doing so), i wrote my initials in a vertical line down the page:
A
M
V
L
then i jotted down all of the words that immediately emerged, beginning with those four letters. that is, all of the words that either had significance in my life at the time or that i felt a connection to (and also liked the sound of and idea behind).
while perusing my list in january, violet and layers just organically joined together and jumped off the page at me. just like the-words-based-on-my-initials, i wasn’t 100% sure what violet layers even meant. but life has an interesting way of filling in the blank spaces. this is the way i described it after the first three months of 2024:
- introspection, going within
- shadow work
- moving into unknown areas
- transitional thresholds
- physical pain (sharp, dull, everywhere in between)
- emotional battles
- restlessness, anxiety, fear
- extreme self-care and calming techniques
- new horizons and explorations in art and art therapy
during the second quarter of the year, i studied my list again and the phrase mosaic alchemy was quickly illuminated (a fusion of M and A words). once more, i wasn’t completely certain what the symbolism might reveal.
i had spoken earlier of an intensely painful period of headaches, and soon mosaic alchemy aptly described its aftermath. trying to carefully arrange the broken bits and pieces of my suddenly-fragmented essence. an unscripted shift in perspective, colliding-and-coalescing waves. left to regroup, reorganize, reassemble back into one coherent whole. creating new energy, ramping up momentum.
i wrapped up 2024’s third quarter by venturing back into my role as retreat guide at my italian home, accompanied by a general VIBE of magnetic vibrancy. golden-glow autumn, new-beginnings september. and THE ARRIVAL #6 proved to be all that >> a rich and vibrant week spent in the company of magnetic and glowing individuals.
and now, in the middle of the last three months, what have i been feeling, experiencing, exploring? what is my VIBE? one more glance at my list convinced me that liminal ambience seemed just right.
the phrase “liminal space” has been used to describe a state of transition (which i currently find myself in – mentally, emotionally, perhaps physically too). it also denotes a somewhat forlorn atmosphere, or hazy dreamlike ambience, in which one tends to semi-withdraw from the world. makes sense, that ghostly corridor. one of my cyclical patterns.
it feels like a reflection of winter’s starkness to me, while passing time in an ethereal waiting room; its ambience, the mood that accompanies such a transition, matching it. bare, detached, beiged-out, alone. ambiguity. often with a sense of dread, possibly with eager anticipation. not knowing what’s coming or what to expect, just trying to heal any hurts and prepare for the next phase.
as i watch the swirling white snow surround me, i wait to see where this chilly-weather introspection takes me . . .
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