A Habit of Reflection

Each year, as the end of the year draws close, I make it a habit to look back over the year and its events and reflect. I look back at the highs and lows, at the areas where I experienced growth and at the ones where I didn't. I usually will do this by spending a few days reading my journals from that year.

This year, I started earlier and am using the aid of a practice called Reverb 12. Hope Wallace Karney introduced me to Reverb 12 on her blog www.besottment.com. Every day she posts a prompt that helps one reflect on the previous year. This has been an unusual year of very highs and very lows. Both of our daughters got married this year and we gained two wonderful son-in-laws {very high}! But, on the very low end, some close friends of almost 20 years moved to Texas {we miss you guys!}

So, faced with reflecting on this past year I thought it would help to do so in a different manner this year..and one that would let me get creative. Since I am obsessed with altering books and making my own art journals, I decided to make a little book for this experience. I've been building a little stash of old books I've found at Goodwill and other places and I had the perfect one for this project.

Front and back covers

Full of foundation pages

Some finished pages:

Intro Page

Day 1: Did you try anything new in 2012?

Day 2: What was the most memorable gathering you attended in 2012?

I had to pick two memorable events since both of our girls got married this year! Some of my answers to prompts were more personal to me than others, so in those instances I used envelopes to place my journaling in. Like on Day 3: What was a storm you weathered in 2012?

This is a busy time of year for me at work with our outreach to the school and neighborhood. Even so, I decided to do this creative project of reflection and an Advent art journal project. Lofty ambitions, I know! But I'm not putting pressure on myself to complete them within any time frame and the creative outlet is helping balance my energy in this busy season