Goodbye Shine

Every year, I pick a word of the year. Why do I do it? To help me step from the old year into the new. And words are important to me. For many years, I made my living using words. Even now, working in clay, many of my pieces have words on them, in them, around them. 

I’ve always loved to read. As a child the library was a place of wonder and delight. Books were my safe space. A place to go and learn and imagine a life different than my own. Now, I look to words for guidance, inspiration, and comfort. 

Shine?

Last year’s word was Shine. I look back at it and wonder. Really? Shine? At the time, my water damaged kitchen was in pieces: the sink was plastic, the kind you see at outdoor festival bathrooms, the floor was dug up like an archeological dig of the past, countertops and cupboards were missing. 

I know, I was being hopeful and optimistic and determined. I was going to ‘shine on’ anyway. I was not going to let it all get me down. I was going to fight to get what was needed to make my home whole again. I tried. Some days it worked, some not.

Shine through anyway. 

As always, art saved me. Throwing and rolling clay in my studio lightened my spirit. Even spending months in a hotel without my studio space, I painted with old watercolors. I crocheted baskets, hats and a small throw. 

Ok, I also watched a lot of HGTV. I saw old termite infested houses rebuilt. Viewed some amazing redesigned kitchens and bathrooms with gleaming tile, countertops and floors. I looked at all of this while my own home was getting torn apart. It took months but, finally all the messy pieces became whole again. Now, my countertops, sink and floors ‘shine’, too. 

Goodbye 2022.

It’s been a year. If I’m really honest, I’m relieved to say goodbye to 2022. It was challenging on so many levels. But then, so have the last three years! With all that’s happened, I really don’t know what to expect. I tried to ‘shine on’ in spite of it all. But like many, I’m burned out and tired of the worry and the stress.  

But maybe,

Just maybe, 

I’ll find a new word to give me, and maybe you, a little light to follow into this next year.  

Searching for the light in the moment

Today, the sun is shining over my shoulder. I’m warm underneath my homemade crochet infinity scarf. I’m sipping fresh, hot coffee. 

Right here, right now, I’m ok.

It’s been a crazy, tough, scary three years, hasn’t it? And I’m here to admit, this new year has been much of the same. New covid variant. New mask protocols. New isolation guidelines. Things are changing on a daily basis. Shopping is still difficult with supply chain issues. Vaccinations were supposed to make everything good again, but even with boosters on top of shots, we’re still being told that’s not enough. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had more than enough. So why? Oh why did I pick my word of the year to be: shine?

Clay therapy. 

I did get a new supply of my favorite clay, English Grolleg porcelain. And this week, I finally got to sit down at my wheel, next to my space heater and throw. What a relief it is. And how easily I forget that no matter how small or large a piece I throw, I come away calmer, happier and, yes, more centered. 

I’ve written many times about how the process of throwing is very zen for me. It requires my precise attention, yet at the same time, the ability to let go and flow. I turn on my Bluetooth speaker, space heater, put out the bed for my ‘Lab’ assistant and throw. 

The biggest step: set no goals. No expectations. No pushing. No production quotas. All I did was measure out chunks of clay for a couple of pieces. In what seemed like no time at all, I had 2 new bowls. 

I felt calm. And refreshed. Even though I was covered in mud. 

Firing up the kiln.

This week, I fired my first kiln load of the year, too. It was just a bisque load but with clay you never know what might happen. Some of the pieces still had their natural leaves attached which needed to burn off safely. And the clay I’d used was older and drier which makes it more vulnerable to cracking during firing. 

Luckily all went well. Leaves burned off nicely and no cracking. I’m looking forward to painting new colors on the leaves and glazing the big

Did I shine this week?

Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve had family with omicron. Supply stresses. Still no sink or floor in my kitchen. Professional dilemmas and doubts. Do I do a large indoor show? Will it get shut down? Will it be safe? Will people come? Is it worth the risk?

I sigh and breath in:

The feel of new clay in my hands and new pieces from the kiln. 

My ‘Lab’ Assistant snoring peacefully. 

Today’s sun on my head. 

Maybe this year’s word, shine, means searching for the light, however small, in each moment. 

So right now, I’m going to take in that softness, color, sweetness and light. 

 

 

2022 Word of the Year: Shine

 

This year’s word popped into my head in December. Maybe it was all the bright, colorful holiday lights. Maybe it was desperation. Maybe, just maybe, it was both a hope and a prayer for this new year to be lighter, brighter, healthier and happier. 

Then came omicron. Yet another mutation of the virus taking us into a third year of fear, masks and rising cases. I questioned my word of the year choice, of course. Did it seem too optimistic now? Too cute? Too cheesy? Totally wrong in the face of another year of covid?

As I questioned and searched, nothing else felt right. Maybe, just maybe the word that seemed totally wrong was exactly the right word after all. 

Darkness to light. 

Our holiday celebrations come during the shortest day of the year. The solstice brings our longest, darkest night and our shortest day. But it also signals the turn from the dark, day by day, to the shortest night and longest day of the year in June. 

The sunshine brings not just light but life. Perhaps because of these difficult years, we need more than ever to focus on light. Trying to find a way to shine more light into lives and the lives of those we love. 

Shine.

Looking up shine in the thesaurus, I found many words to inspire and enlighten my heart, mind and soul. Even during this difficult time, I can work to make things brighter around me.

Lead with my heart. Smile even when I’m wearing a mask, hope they see it in my eyes. 

Light new candles. And guide my monkey mind from worries and fear to calmness and hope. 

See and feel how working with brilliant colors in my clay lightens my soul. 

Instant Karma. 

My husband found a song that inspired him, “Instant Karma” written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Yes, the song has a dark side like our last few years. But it asks us to see we’re all in this together. And we’re not here to live in pain and fear and isolation.

We are here to shine.  

Like the moon and the stars and the sun. 

This year, more than ever, let’s all help each other find ways to shine on and on and on

Instant Karma's gonna get you

Gonna knock you off your feet

Better recognize your brothers

Ev'ryone you meet

Why in the world are we here

Surely not to live in pain and fear

Why on earth are you there

When you're ev'rywhere

Come and get your share

Well we all shine on

Like the moon and the stars and the sun

Yeah we all shine on

Come on and on and on on on