mantra

In lieu of New Year's resolutions, I chose a one-word theme for 2015. Some people write theirs into moleskine journals or fancy planners; I like to doodle/collage mine into a spiral sketch pad. Who doesn't like playing with scissors, paints and glue?

I see art journaling as a meditative experience. It encourages awareness, helps me clarify my thoughts and breathe life into new ideas. Until, that is, I make a "mistake." That sucks the sugar crystals right off my lemon drop, boy howdy, and I have to fight the urge to rip out the page and start over.

This, even though the first "rule" of art journaling is that there's no such thing as a mistake. Even though I know the benefits of compassionate detachment and mindful observance.

So here you have it: an illustrated example of at least one place I'd like to grow. It's why I chose SUSTAIN (in all its definitions) as my mantra for this year.

Want to try something similar for yourself? I invite you to visit Suzannah Conway's page, "Let's Make Some Magic in 2015!" It's chock-full of activities designed to help you reflect on the events of the past and to imagine the possibilities for the coming year. In the process, you'll be encouraged to choose your own 2015 Word o' the Year or to write out New Year's resolutions. So fun: You'll create a vision board, sketch/collage/write things into a journal, and/or create a calendar with goals and deadlines. It's a playground of sorts, with positive implications…in other words, an invitation to do whatever's meaningful and SUSTAIN-able for you.