Last year my theme was Awake, and indeed it was a year of gaining clarity. I took a hard look at some of the parts of my life I’d been foggy about: my money, my systems, some bad patterns in relationships. This is NOT my favorite thing to do, and it wasn’t always fun, but it certainly was useful.

Being awake wasn’t just about looking at the hard things– I woke up even more vividly to the joy in my life too: my radiant daughter, my hilarious friends, my own grinning face in the mirror.

Oh, hello!~ I found myself saying a lot. Hello, my life! So THAT’s who you are!

And that new clarity has led me to decide that this next year is about getting strong. Building strength mentally, physically, spiritually.

It’s the year of the horse.

(Look at that gorgeous photo– it’s by my amazing friend Stacy Snow, and you should check out her work HERE and email her HERE to get one of her gorgeous prints.)

To me, horses epitomize the joy of movement, the beauty of community, and the glory of great speed and strength. Horses can take good care of themselves in the wild, but they can also live and work in harmony with humans and each other. They’re fast, they’re strong, and they don’t tolerate bullshit. I respect this.

So my theme for 2014, the year of the horse, is Epic Fucking Bad Ass. 

This makes me laugh, and it looks really pretty in fancy script on my daily compass. But it also reminds me to think about True Strengths, which is my deeper theme-under-the-theme.

Sometimes true strength is about blazing a fiery blaze of passion; other times it’s about sitting and waiting. Sometimes true strength looks like quiet compassion; other times it’s a smackdown.

Focusing on true strengths also reminds me to focus on what I’m truly good at, and what I WANT to be good at.  It reminds me to focus on a few things and let the others go.

Having a theme like this helps me focus my energies. It gives me momentum. It makes me stronger.

So tell me– what’s your year going to be about? If you could choose one theme to embody what you most want to be, create, and experience this year, what would it be?

No, really, tell  me– I want to know.  Tell me on Facebook or hit reply if you’re shy.

Wishing you speed, strength, joy– and an epic fucking January.