Twenty twenty-four
quantum leaps in store
into creativity
love and joy galore
Courage to Jump (and Fall) Creates Possibility to Fly
2024 is a leap year and both the dynamic term “leap year” and idea of a whole additional juicy day in the year during which to experience and accomplish things inspired me to choose LEAP as my year’s stand or intention.
As a dancer, it’s an apt analogy, though I no longer physically leap quite like I once did. Courageously following my heart regardless of fear has become my personal practice. Choosing a guiding word or phrase each year has also been a part of my intention-setting process since 2015, thanks to my friend Liz, and I also shared about my 2023 Word and intentions on Instagram, YouTube, and here on the blog.
As 2023 came to an end, I circled in and landed on Leap as my word for the coming year. Through contemplation and free-association, all sorts of connections arose. I thought of the flying creatures I love such as birds and butterflies, the nurturance and training in the nest and transformation in the chrysalis that then make taking to the sky possible, after a first courageous step into the unknown.
Skies and celestial imagery, stars and our sun, the moon and planets, wind and weather patterns all came to mind. Mind, intuition and spirit got to work forging connections and planting seeds for future creation. I considered how this word could connect to and fuel my projects, goals, short- and long-term vision. What leaps do I want to take this year? How do I want to help others to take their own quantum leaps?
Alignment with Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values
Being able to take such leaps has to do with Freedom, one of my core values which is deeply connected to my Purpose of Joy, Essence of Buoyant (!), Creative, Curious, Love, & Leader, my Mission to inspire, equip, and liberate, Vision to support my community to live extraordinary lives through coaching, dance and mindful movement education… even my Artist’s Prayer includes “loving my neighbors, helping them to fly as birds!”
None of us is free until we are all free, and my work includes an intersectional commitment to emancipation for all.
For me personally to take leaps of faith and freedom, I will keep exercising and trusting my voice, expressing my message, and engaging in supports and challenges that help me do so. Empowering and uplifting myself and others starts within and then moves out into the world.
My role as a Bliss Catalyst and Quantum Leap Launcher is to assist others in navigating their own courageous moves, whether they be artistic, athletic, professional, or personal.
Staying Present to Our Intentions
Staying grounded in this intention informs my attitude and choices throughout the year and helps me get oriented again when I get lost in the circumstances of everyday life, from mundane details to sudden crises or worldwide drama.
Writing out my word and poem in my Bullet Journal and collaging imagery means I have positive associations with it, will interact with it daily and be reminded or where I’m coming from in 2024. This way it can influence my decisions and actions and how I influence others.
This specific approach appeals to and motivates me, but this will take a different shape for each individual person and process.
Finding Luck and Synchronicity
Choosing a theme, intention, or word for the year also provides a connecting thread for all of my experiences, influences, and resources. My intuition and awareness are on alert for helpful inputs and inspirations. In my daily reading and media consumption, synchronicity has already started popping up all over in the books, poems, articles, conversations, artworks, and experiences in nature I encounter. A few of these are captured in the photo above, and I’ll keep collecting them in my Bullet Journal, music and video playlists, and second brain as the year continues.
May your year also be blessed with support for taking leaps of faith into your wildest dreams!
Questions for Reflection
- What is your Word(s) of the Year?
- Which small action(s) will you take today to embody it?
- How will you return to your intention when life inevitably carries you away?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Say the Magic Words Blog Article
- Blogging My Purpose – the “Why” behind A Blythe Coach Blog Article
- Why Bother Distinguishing Your Why? Purpose Blog Article
- Goal-Setting for Dancers Blog Article
- Analog Journals for Creativity Blog Article
- In September 2020 I was Jumping in with Sauter and Leaps of Faith in my first blog article on ablythecoach.com
- If you’d like to actually learn to leap like a ballerina in the air, you’ll want to work on your splits on the floor and I explain how in the Go Bananas for the Splits Blog Article