The Spaces In Between

For those who are new here: Every New Year, I try to choose a set of words to use as a compass to orient me in the new year. My previous words have been: breathe and lead with love (2014), trust and focus (2015), listen and flow (2016), space (2017), magic and connection (2018), joyful curiosity (2019), tender belonging (2020), fierce hope/soft resilience (2021), delightful possibility (2022), sparks and embers (2023). Each of these words has helped me think about how I want to show up in the world, and what I want to invite into my life.

Sparks and embers ended up being a good choice of words for 2023. They helped me get through my second semester at Wells College and into the start of my second year. They were words that I often returned to when I needed some encouragement and as a reminder that something small can be the start of something new and fierce.

My words for 2024 took some thought, as my new words often do. I wanted to return to the idea of community/building relationships, and to encourage the practice of creativity in my life. After lots of musing and mulling it over, I came up with the combination creative intimacies.

I considered creative connections instead, as I was unsure about sexual connotation that can come with the word intimacies, but ultimately decided intimacies had more nuance, and was the best fit. It conveys a richness that is not present in the word connection. (Plus I used connection as a word in 2018, and while I can repeat them, I try not to).

These two words are an invitation to be creative in my relationships, to keep building the friendships and family constellations that feel nourishing to me. I want to think beyond heteronormative ideas of friends and family, and to practice disability justice in my community building. And I want to deepen my art practices and to invite more exploration of creative endeavors into my time, life, and teaching.