vulnerability + universality

I have never met anyone before who wants to become a shittier person. Nobody has ever told me, “yea, I want to treat others worse.” or “I love making myself feel badly.” Here we are, all striving to be better. Maybe, like me, you feel like you make a million mistakes a day. And maybe, you understand that what matters is
a) that we are able to perceive those mistakes
b) that we can express when we’ve done wrong
c) eventually or quickly, we learn from them
d) maybe then we hold space for others to see/learn from those same mistakes when needed
e) and then we no longer identify with that behavior or pattern or it holds no space in our mind/body/spirit

Full disclosure: I have a tendency to stick to patterns for far longer than needed. Any big life shift for me happens years after I first realize that a change needs to be made. “This Year Is Different” was born out of my desire to dedicate a year of my life to making choices that make me a better person.

In talking to friends and collaborators it seems as though there are universal rights of passage that we all go through in our personal process of finding and bettering ourselves. We all share that there is a personal journey and perhaps each person’s path(s) has different directions, road blocks, terrains and clearings.

Each collaborator began the rehearsal process by writing a letter to themselves about things they would like to change/improve/respond to about themselves during this next year. They wrote the letter and put it in a self addressed envelope. I will mail the letter a year from when we wrote them. (If you want to write this letter and have me send it to you in a year, let me know and I’ll add your envelope to the others)

I recently began practicing this proprioceptive writing method, where you listen and write your thoughts for 25 minutes with a candle lit and Baroque music playing. There is no need for it to be cohesive or usable or decent writing. It’s aim is to help you listen to yourself and hear the voices inside your head. I can say that this practice has been REVEALING even after only 5 days of doing it.

Similarly, this piece, “This Year Is Different” looks at our inner thoughts, our inner triumphs and our inner struggles. It reveals four characters’ motivations for personal transformation and the ways in which they relate. I can’t wait to share it with you all…