Possums,

Merry Ordinary Christmas from me and my family to you and yours.

And if it’s been a shit one, even more hugs and love to you. We have had a quiet Christmas as always… one filled with LEGO and books. Low-key is our style statement.

I asked my husband on the day if he had any Christmas feelings coming up that needed processing. You know the kind: guilt, grief, sadness, unmet expectations, longing, pain, pressure, worry, overwhelm, exhaustion. His was only about a 2/10 this year. Mine were about the same, so that’s a win. We’ve certainly had years when those feelings were much bigger and needed much more attention.

I share this because I’d like for all of us to know that not being 100% merry is totes normal.

We can craft our own season, free of expectations, and more able to acknowledge the full breadth of our feelings.

Here’s a pie chart of Christmas feelings this year:

And now the holiday season REALLY begins!

My favourite time of year is here… the post-Christmas gentle after all the expectation and pressure-cooker build up gone… the days between now and January’s end ready for reflection, dreaming and planning.

Today, I pulled out my workbooks that I wrote a year ago and read through it all… the closing ceremony and the goals I made. It’s amazing how things have changed in one year, and I’m so grateful I have these written reminders of who I was, how I’ve healed, and what I’m becoming next.

So many dreams came true this year – most I planned on in those goals workbooks, others I didn’t (i.e. the beautiful surprise of homeschooling). It’s always a miracle to meet with my Past Self and Future Self in these workbooks. I can see the random threads of my life weaving into a tapestry. What a blessing.

Tis the time to review last year’s goals workbooks… and start filling in next years!

And then dreaming up what is next…

Over the next few weeks (right up until January’s end), I’ll be ensconced in my own dreaming process.

I wrote and illustrated these babies for myself a lifetime ago before I was a mama… thought I’d share them with the world as an afterthought… only for them to become a cult hit used by over 400,000 beautiful souls around the world (!!!!)

Even if I’d just kept them for myself though… they would still be my favourite creation. Such an essential part of my own process for crafting my own life and business.

But I’m glad it’s not just me that’s doing it… that I get to share this journey with so many of you… it makes my heart so happy to hear of YOUR dreams and goals coming true as well.

Haven’t got your 2018 goals workbooks yet?

You can now buy the printed books on Amazon:

Biz printed workbook: http://amzn.to/2z9CuaZ

Life printed workbook: http://amzn.to/2xRaVll

You can also order DIGITAL EBOOKS to fill out digitally or print here: http://shiningyear.com

If ya love ’em, I’d gratefully love a review to help other souls know they are worth their time.

In the meantime…

Let’s go gently.

It’s been a massive year globally. The Tower is falling in so many ways, systems falling apart and old modes of being being exposed to be consciously healed. Needed – yes. Cathartic – yes. Painful, scary, stressful – yes. All these things, all at once.

And we can only do it with self-care and self-compassion, first and foremost. Tend to our wounds so we can tend to the wounds of the world. Tend to the wounds of the world so we can tend to our own. It’s so intrinsically connected.

Come home to our centre, grow within us light, love, compassion and understanding. Then: radiate that out into the world.

I think we can start feeling like our dreams are selfish… and yet they are essential. We must make our dreams and plans for how we want ourselves + the world to heal next. One can’t happen without the other.

We are each needed in this big, beautiful world, with our gentle, loving hearts, and our sky-wide dreams.

Tenderly,