I have long known what my ‘one word’ for this year would be.

Last year was a year of silence as far as this blog was concerned, although my word for it was ‘dawn’ – in reality it was more of a sense of ‘through the dark to the dawn’….but that is slightly more than one word!

2019 was a tricky year for me in many ways, but there were treasures in the darkness. I am not going to expound on what those treasures were, as that is something that needs holding in my heart a little longer before I choose to express it.

But even in my ‘through-the-dark-to-the-dawn’ year I knew that 2020 was soaked in a call to creativity and expression – it is my year of play.

I have put down my editing work. And picked up artists’ materials. I am playing with mixed media art, especially textile art – mainly, feltmaking. I tapped into the emotional side of myself during last year, which I have kept locked up a little too tightly for a while. I forgot the key. I found it in the darkness.

And I am learning to express it visually when words are not adequate is a release for me.

I’m also encouraged to nurture my musical gifts… to try and embrace that a little more, practise more intently, relax into writing lyrics again.

None of this means I am stopping being a writer, just that I am bringing different forms of expression together, in a way that releases my potential in new ways and, hopefully, will make me a blessing to others.

I’ve realised that I enjoy loving people and watching them flourish in the light of kindness and affection. I hope to weave that in to my creative ‘play’.

I will share more as I am able, give more details on what I am actually doing, but here is a gentle introduction for you.

Welcome to my year of play.