rooting and blooming.

I woke up to December rain this morning. This is Minnesota and it's not supposed to rain in December. But, alas, it is--and I am enjoying the softness of its sound on the roof and snow. Rain has a different sound when its not met by leaves and green.

I've been wanting to write for days. I turned 34 this week and it feels important that I somehow record this journey. 34 is going to be an important year. 33 was also. It was the year I walked smack dab into the middle of my heart and started living from my center. 33 was a new beginning in my life. It was also a year of tremendous growth and change. A lot of the time it was really painful. And yet, in the passed year, I have also experienced more love and passion than I have known what to do with. This was the year I planted roots. I watered, tended, and nourished them. I planted myself in vibrant soil and have felt the deliciousness of growing myself into its depths. 33 required faith of the most profound kind. 33 was about merely establishing myself. And 34?

34 is my year to bloom.

I came to this analogy of rooting and blooming during a recent coaching call with Jamie. During a particularly intense session, she told me the story about planting clematis two years ago and how she lovingly tended to it...and, still, it did not bloom. Worried and frustrated, she asked her mom what she was doing wrong. Her mom (oh, I just love her mom) wisely told her not to worry. She explained that the clematis was growing deep and strong. It was taking root, taking hold. The clematis was putting all of its growing energy into its roots and foliage so that it could be strong and big and beautiful and could weather anything. The next year, sure enough...

It bloomed (BIG TIME)!!

(Thank you, Jamie, for sharing this photo with me!)

During this past month I have been doing one-on-one coaching with Jamie of Jamie Ridler Studios. Let me just say: she amazes me. Last year was my first experience of coaching with her when I joined Circe's Circle. Holy profound! That group got me started. They were the ones that nudged me off of my big duff and supported me in taking bigger leaps than I might have taken otherwise. The result: Stray Dog Arts. Although I was already personally motivated to bring change into my life, I have to give Circe's Circle (Jamie, along with Melba, and Mardougrrl) a lot of credit for helping me make it happen at such lightening speeds. Needless to say, a year later, I was in need of another dose of Jamie's extraordinary coaching talents--and, of course, she did not let me down.

This year I am ready to stop beating the drum of struggle. Lately I've been asking myself: "What are my old stories? And what are the new stories I now want to tell?"

This is my new year. This is the year that I get to turn another page, begin a new chapter. I am grateful for every beating second of the past year. But now I am ready to take a step forward into the new story of my life.

34 is capable. 34 is financially stable. 34 is confident. 34 has space to be. 34 is open to possibilities. 34 walks tall. 34 is beautiful. 34 loves deeply. 34 travels. 34 is filled with true friends. 34 surprises herself. 34 knows what she wants. 34 is a creator. 34 shines.

34 is in WILD BLOOM!!!!

ps.
Want to get inspired by Jamie?
Check out her video here.
Consider trying out Circe's Circle for yourself.
Or maybe join her upcoming book group (I am)!
Jamie is intelligent, sensitive, intuitive. She is magic. She is a gift.

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