Emerge

Since the turn of the New Year, I have been itching to mix things up. From moving furniture, to taking on new creative projects, to hair cuts, I’ve got some kind of something going on. I think I’m just looking for some kind of change.

Is it just that time of year? The political changes? Some planetary alignment (or misalignment)? Or is it just me?

Is it just me?

Does anyone else feel some deep soul stirring that’s got you longing for reinvention? Is anyone else craving the cracking open of growth, transformation and possibility of revealing something bright, shiny and new?

If we are all in this one together, I would like to know. Put my mind as ease and tell me that you know what I mean. That you have been here before or that you are here with me right now. Does it feel like there is something within you that is begging to come to the surface—something that can no longer be denied? I am holding onto this believe that if we’re willing, something beyond our wildest dreams might emerge. Can you feel it too?

Comments

[Marcie]

The start of a new year..the start of a new administration. I think everyone is feeling the urge to change.
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=665

[Ange]

Absolutely! Change is in the air... and I'm feelin' it all the way over here in Thailand. I've already made some pretty major decisions about 2009 involving lots of travel. Can't wait to see how the year unfolds!

[kt]

This is the year for stepping out trying something new I have been witnessing so many blogger sisters getting together and starting new shared blogs this year and lucky me, I am one of them. Here is too continuing to grow and taking on something new. kt
p.s. Nice haircut by the way:)

[Alli]

I'm sitting on the precipice of change, waiting to bring new life into this world, and forge a new meaning of "normal" for our family.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumleydotorg/3185842033/

Our due date is around Valentine's Day and I couldn't be more ready.

[ELK]

Tracey love the new hair cut and what a post that speaks to many.

change is surely in the air for this year. My first ever "Give Day" a creative, fun project started with older daughter using all recycled materials. It has been a very amazing process to share.
http://www.redorgray.com/2009/01/give-day.html

[Christine]

Maybe it is not about changing, but about transforming or becoming the person we are already in the bottom of our hearts. Maybe it's the time to release our true identitiy...the world deserves to see us, doesn't she?

That is the way I feel right now. And I have to admit, it is everything else but easy.

[sebrina]

Oh yes for sure!!! I have been feeling it more this year then any other. I think the time is right for a BIG change :)

[Jean M Fogle]

LIfe is all about change! Morphing into a new being can be scary or exciting. If you think about it , insects, to many a lowly form of life, change all the time.
I too am changing, rearranging, working on how to be the best I can. I started working on my next book again and am even with the crummy economy, I am going to a writers conference to propose the book to editors.
My post today is all about insects changes and how if they can change, we can too!

http://pixels-n-pen.blogspot.com

[margie]

for sure. i see all over blog world the talk of creativity, change, reinvention. more than just the usual resolutions of a new year. this feels different. it is in fact different.

www.soeursdujour.com

[camerashymomma]

i'm feeling it too tracey, and yet i dont' know how or what to do with it. these feelings seems vaguely familiar yet completely unknown. it's kinda exciting! i'm not sure where i'll take it but funny enough i'm chopping my hair on sunday too! (by the way your hair looks great!)

[Lee]

As with every winter, right now I'm suffering through the monotony of snow and cold ... I think that is what has me crave change from December through March! So, I've taken on some projects, bought some funky glasses and even changed the colour of my hair!

[Kelly]

Oh wow - I thought it was just me! Yay for not being the only one!

[Loran]

I thought it was just me! I've been exploding with new energy, creativity and desire for change. Good to know it's in the air, or the planets and stars, wherever, whatever it is, it's good.

[Kristin]

I feel so much the same way. I am ready for new hair at the simple end. On the other end, I am ready for art to come bursting out of my soul. I have been stuffing my artist for 15 years and she's not taking it anymore! I have just had my 2nd baby and have been home for 2 months. In the stillness I am plotting and planning....
Kristin

[Bonnie]

Tracey, I am a grandmother, 60 years old. I don't think we ever stop trying to redefine and transform our lives. I have been struggling with this ever since my children left home a few years ago. When we finally reach the place where we have the freedom to become what we've always dreamed, expectations of those around us still control what we eventually, actually do. Because my daughter is a single mother, her children need me almost as much as my own children did. I try to maintain a bit of separation but when the choice comes between a baby sitter and me, I usually give up my plans to be with them, thinking this is the best thing for them. All this to say that I believe humans never give up the urge for reinvention. Sometimes we aren't able to do it but I think we always have the urge for it. I have taken up photography because it is easier to carry around a camera as I go about my day than it is to spend the hours in the watercolor classes I really want to take. (And it is a lot of fun). My "words of wisdom" to you would be to reinvent yourself as often and as much as you possibly can. There is so much in the world to explore and do. One of the best things you can do for your children is let them know, by your example, that they can also explore and go out into the world and that MOTHERS DO THIS TOO. They don't have to be stuck in a mold of expectations. I could write volumes on this subject. You have opened up a can of worms in my mind. I will be thinking about this for a while and seeing where I have stopped pursuing my plans because of what other people have planned for me. I won't give up my grandma duties and pleasures but I need to reevaluate what I am going to do in the last phase of my life. I am still healthy and active and need to go about living as I dreamed when I was young. A warning: your family doesn't always like it when you upset the status quo :o) So yes, I feel it too!

love,bonnie

P.S. You have been an inspiration to me for the last couple of months, ever since I discovered Shutter Sisters. Sorry this is so long... But it is your fault :o)

[Lu]

It is not just you. I have had a deep soul stirring going on for about two years now and it is at the point I feel like I can not take it anymore. So, I practice being patient, which is very hard for me to do. I feel at times like I need to be filling all of my moments with meaningful activity, when in reality, I need to be still and just let the stirring stir inside of me. I am working on it and that is a beginning.

[Karyn]

Yes, I COMPLETELY know what you mean.

[Secret Agent Mama]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!

I am on the verge of something and I just feel the need to evolve. I hope I can!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmama/3210341513/

[NotAnna]

Could it have something to do with the political and economic instability, too? We see the world in flux and change isn't so unfamiliar anymore. What used to be assumed is now called into question. Maybe that's jostled our martini shakers enough to bring out the gin in what is all too often a sea of vermouth? Sure, the drink has a bite to it, but it ain't all bad. :-)

[Joelle]

Without a doubt! I'm slowly starting to put my plans into motion and we'll see where they lead. :)

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

I REFORMATTED MY LIFE......

come see!
http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2009/01/alternative-to-resolutions.html

It's an alternative to resolutions!!

[Kacey]

I'm so with you! I always feel a bit like "gotta change things up" in January. But this year it has hit hard. It might be my recent empty nest syndrome...or coming back from a bright sunny vacation to gray, cold, dreary...not sure. I just wrote about it today on my blog. Want to change my blog theme, get new countertops, etc, etc.

I'm also growing my hair out and it's driving me insane!

[Puna]

Oh ladies, such words of wisdom. I had a very simple change this weekend, a spontaneous, spur of the moment trip. It was just the change I needed.

http://lifesignatures.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/out-of-the-cold/

[Monica]

Yep! Yep! Yep! I hear ya!

In fact, I'm going to get my hair cut this afternoon! This stretch of the winter is always the hardest, with all the big holidays past and the cold weather still lingering. Time to mix things up a bit!

My post today features a picture from last Spring... in the hopes that new growth and longer days will be here soooon!
http://picsoul.blogspot.com/2009/01/emerge.html

[Charlane]

Emerge is my word of the year!!! Many new things are new for this year....

http://flickr.com/photos/charlaneg/3179524975/

[Heather]

I wrote a little about this restlessness on my blog too, and created a little video about what it will mean for me to be fearless in 2009.

About the political sea change - I'm not American, but even here in Canada we're inspired by the winds of change.

[Kristin]

I think change is everywhere. Change for America, change for you, change for me, and definately, hopefully change for the good. It is a year of change. I'm always wanting to change and now i feel like it's possible. It's a new era!

[celtcbuffy]

Just like most of the above comments, I, too, feel a need for change. Mine is deep within me, a longing for creativity and a lifestyle that helps to meet those creative needs. I have never though of myself as a creative person so this stirring to be creative is rather new and unexpected.

[joanne]

what a relief to see someone write this and so many in agreement...yes, me too!

[Vanessa]

the desperate craving is most definately there. or rather HERE!

[o-girl]

I've been feeling this way for YEARS. It's totally frustrating that I can't "birth" whatever it is I feel bubbling around inside of me. (it's not gas!) ;) I like how you put that...something that can no longer be defined. Yes, yes, yes! Amen and amen and amen! Now, how do we go about finding clarity and definition? I want to be my authentic self. So much has been shut away for various reasons. I know there's more to life than how I'm currently existing. I can feel it. There has to be. I don't want to just 'exist' anymore. I want to LIVE. Thanks for your post. I know so many of us can truly identify with it.

[Amy]

Well said. I thought it was my impending (40th) birthday or perhaps the winds of political change. Maybe it is the descent from the apex of winter. Whatever is causing it, however, I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my desire to start anew.

[Toni]

I got my hair cut last week! Change. I think the whole country is inspired by change right now. And if we can change the direction of our country in a big way by very vocally and overwhelmingly electing and then actually seeing Obama sworn in as our next president, then we see that, yes, we can make small changes in our personal lives, too. Change. One step at a time.

[Dawn]

Preach it sista!

It's got to be the culmination of the New Year, new leader, new hope......I feel it too!

[Carmen]

So glad to hear there are others out there with this feeling of restlessness, and the desire for change. I am finding myself in the middle of such a feeling, but I sense an idea, a dream, lingering out there on the edge of my awareness, just waiting to be fully seen and embraced.
So here's to a new year and new beginnings. May you find your vision for 2009 and run with it!

[o-girl]

ooops....silly me....I read "defined" in your post when you actually wrote "denied". It still holds true for me though. ;)

[Mariella]

Yes!!!! My river is bubbling over too!

[spread your wings]

my friend and i were just talking about this yesterday. seems so many of us are feeling the same. Mine's part due to being an empty nester and there really are changes in my life - it's renewed in a me a desire for change anyway. I want new furniture not to just change what I have around; i want new dishes; i want a new style, etc, etc; i want to create more - hence joining the "12 secrets to highly creative women" book blog group.

http://autumnsun08.blogspot.com/2009/01/2-honouring-my-inspirations.html

[Shannon]

Yes! Yes! Yes! It started a few weeks ago for me - feeling like everything was splitting wide open in the best possible way. Every day there has been more - more of all these beautiful things. Where was I before when I didn't see them? Thank you for your post. You are definitely not alone. We are walking along together.

[Casie]

I am in completely with you. My world is changing and it is exhilarating!

[Carmen Torbus]

Tracey, you are SO not alone. I've been telling everyone lately how I feel a shift coming. Not sure what it is, what's driving it or where it will take me, but I can feel it from the depths of my being and it is good.

Love, love, love your new cut! Very sassy! I did the same thing recently. lol

Here's to a year of changes, shifts and wildest dreams coming true!

Namasté,
Carmen

[Jackie]

AB. SO. LUTELY! It's like an itch you can't quite reach, but you know if you just stretch a little farther and get to it - it's going to feel soooooo good.

[maz]

Yep, me too. I've had the nugget of an idea for a new blog project growing within me for a few weeks but now I KNOW I have to run with it.... but not before I've planned, cogitated and researched....I'm not that impulsive!
Shutter Sisters, how do you always say the right thing at the right time?! Are you reading minds via the computer screen?!

[Sharon]

Absolutely. I'm between jobs, jazzed by the inauguration, and anxious to do something creative and fulfilling. So just what do we do with all this pent up energy for change?

[Toni]

Yes, yes, and a resounding yes!! I'm totally with you on this.
Reinvention is all I'm thinking about these days.

[Diane Schuller]

you're not alone. I realize that in the USA with your new president there is a whole new anticipation and merge into change but I think many of us (even here in Canada) have that hopeful outlook as well. BUT, I think it's something deeper as you are talking about ... yes, I am feeling that I'm in need of a new life, a second chance, sprouting a new me -- something that is fresh, alive, different. You are not alone.

In fact I just created a new daily photoblog as part of my attempt at emergence:

http://dianeschuller.aminus3.com/

[Jen]

I think 2008 was a hard year in every aspect. I know I need to renew and change things up a bit. I am trying to put more focus on Beebee Mod, take a business class, change my hair up a little. This year needs to be better and it only seems right with the change in power we had.

P.S. I LOVE the hair!

[Nicole Renée]

This weekend my 83 year old aunt inspired me with doing the trapeze, and a friend moved me with an at home Inauguration Day wedding. When she asked me to be her photographer I almost said no (I am no professional and I own no lighting equiptment), but I was all she had. In addition, if I would have said no I would have missed out on being front and center for a memorable event. I posted a few pics from both events to my new Flickr acct, and my new Project 365. 2009 already seems exciting! Thank you Shutter Sisters for all the FUN and motivation to move out of my box.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28854763@N07/

[Lisa]

I loved reading Bonnie's comments. I think she should start a blog. Anyway, YES - I've been feeling the need for change since last year. I started an exercise program months ago, but to help me stay motivated I signed up for a race in Feb. I want a haircut but will wait till after the race so I can wear it in a ponytail. I want a change in my creativeness too...learn more about photography and scrap on a regular basis. I have more changes planned too like organize my house more and get rid of unwanted/un-needed items, etc. Change IS in the air!!!

[Laurel]

I think it is going around. Several friends have posted about feeling some discontent and wanting some creative change and I have similar feelings. I think we all feel them with the new year hence so many new year's resolutions. I can't wait to see what changes and growth occur each year.