My word for 2016

"Find a place you trust and try trusting it for a while."
- Sister Corita Kent's rules for creativity

For the past few years, I have joined many other women on the Internet in picking a word for the year. This year that word is Trust. Trust that the work I put in in 2015 will lead to wonderful things. Trust the process. Trust my gut. Trust myself. Most of all, trust in the life that I have built. Lean in to the goodness of life right now and trust that whatever is coming next will be even better. Resolutions are often about spurring yourself to bigger, better things - right now I want to trust that what I already have going is great. To doubt and second-guess myself a little less.

And relevant to my creative plans in 2016, it is also about trusting that my year of creative habits has built my creative muscle enough that I'll continue to make creativity a regular part of my life, without the obligation of doing it every single day, or creating a finished product before my bedtime. To be honest, I felt a bit guilty about not making anything on January 1, especially with so many inspiring art journallers on Instagram launching new daily projects for 2016. It felt like watching the boat leave and knowing it was too late to get on. But I know this is the right call for me.

And about the photo: last December we celebrated Christmas in southern California with runs and bike rides along the Pacific; this December I got to go on a few long walks along the Atlantic after workdays full of political party trainings in Mauritania. I hope next December will find me on a beach somewhere too. There's nowhere better to reflect back on the old year and set intentions for the new.