Usually, during the days surrounding the New Year, my mind turns to reflection. I tend to be pretty serious about this - I fill my journal with aspirations for the upcoming year, I seek out conversations about the highlights of the past year and hopes and dreams about the next, and I usually plan some quiet time to reflect and seal my intentions for the next cycle around the sun. But for some reason this year, things felt different. These reflections did not emerge the way they often do. I’m not sure why, but I did not seem to have the focus or the patience to introspect to the extent that I often do - I could not find the words.

This did not feel right. New Year’s came and went, and I started to feel like this glorious opportunity was slipping away. What was happening? Was I really going to let the cusp of 2019 come and go without my customary ritual? I knew I would need to try something different this year. My mind then turned to expressive arts - this is what I share with clients at Redwood Counseling when we are sitting with a difficult idea, and words are not forthcoming. Then it seemed clear - why not dip into some Expressive Arts for myself around the idea of the New Year, and see what would emerge!