Happy New Year, friends. I am entering 2024 a little bit like a kid that’s just gotten off the Tilt-a-Whirl. The whole world has spun and upended and then, like all rides must, stopped. And now, I’m taking my first wobbly steps into a new existence, letting my insides settle and regaining my orientation.
Many of you know that I put most of my work on hold for the last half of 2023 as we ushered my dad through his last months of life. It was a hard decision in a lot of ways—frankly, I missed my work like I imagine parents miss their children. I love writing, I love making things and I love guiding people through these processes of self-discovery. These acts fill me up with so much joy, challenge, and satisfaction. But as any caregiver knows, the act of walking someone through their last days is intense, gratifying, and all-consuming.
My friend Colleen wrote me a beautiful note in the days after my dad died. She said that she sees her adult life in two phases, before her mother died and after her mother died. I feel that in my bones. We come out the other side of death forever changed.
I’ve been thinking, if I can mix my metaphors here, that this is a time of great re-awakening. Not to Pollyanna grief or anything of the sort, but the After Dad Died Sarah is emerging, and there is so much to explore.
I have always opened my Creatology workshops with a session on Awakenings because I believe when we embark on a new creative habit or practice, we are awakening to something new. Sometimes we’re nudged or shoved into these practices by life changes outside of our control—losing a job, a health scare, divorce, becoming an empty nester, death. We are presented with an opportunity to awaken something new in ourselves.
I always feel obligated to offer this caveat: awakenings aren’t always pretty. Births are rarely simple and easy. We like to imagine awakening like the sun creeping over the horizon, showering us with the gift of a new day. But more often than not, we are yanked out of sleep by the clang of the alarm, the noise of our children, the demands of the day. So it is.
And yet, as in all aspects of life, awakenings are not all trumpets in your ear or quiet sunrises, there is grace and inspiration and aggravation in them all.
I revisited the Creatology sessions on Awakening last week. I’ve been doing the exercises, allowing myself to explore this new way of being.
I’m sharing this all with you for a reason, reasons that are beyond updating you on my state of mind. I have been witness to so many of you walking through loss, grief, readjustment, reawakening in the last few months. I have heard from so many of you, sat in circles with you, cried with you, cursed with you. Beyond this community, I see the heartache on social media. I think we are experiencing a profound state of collective grief, both personal and interpersonal. And if my experience is anything like the collective’s, this grief is the precursor to awakening.
We’re in it together, which is some small comfort, I suppose.
And so, an offer…
I’d like to offer this, then…if what you’re reading speaks to you in some way and you’d like to explore this more, I’ve got two opportunities for you.
I’m offering Creatology: Living the Creative Life at 50% off through January 20. Use the code GIFT20241.
If you purchase the self-study course between now and January 20, you’ll be invited to a special Creatology Meet-Up group on January 28. We’ll spend time sharing our experiences and troubleshooting our creative journeys.
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We can navigate our new normal—in all the hues and iterations—together, my friends.
As I keep walking this new road, the After Dad Died road, I see opportunity. I see adventure. I see openings. While I am navigating sorrow and loss, I am also holding joy and anticipation for the future. I have so many exciting things to share with you in the coming weeks.
Thank you for holding space and giving me grace in these last months.
Please, please share with anyone you think could benefit from this sort of exploration. Word of mouth is the greatest gift…and speaking of gifts, if Creatology is something you’d like to gift someone, reach out and we can make that arrangment: sarah@bewonderment.com