SHIMMERING, TENACIOUS RECEPTIVITY🌝

We are a quarter of our way in to this new century, surviving a global pandemic and a cynical dystopia that threatens to hypnotise us with its horror. Yet, we’re still here, still connected.

I thought about this when I sat down to name the coming year.

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For the last three years I’ve followed an alternative to new year’s resolutions. I have named the coming year with a power phrase. This is an invention of poet Lauren Brazzle Zuniga. On her website (no longer online) she proposed interrogating the old year in order to come up with something for the new one just beginning.

The name embodies lessons learned and intentions going forward.

I am paraphrasing from Lauren’s process:

• Looking back at the old year, what did you learn to do better?
• What really shone?
• Were there any surprises? What did you embrace?
• What did you relinquish?
• Where did you set boundaries?
• What does your gut tell you you need to do this coming year?
• What words keep showing up?

Choose a phrase that encapsulates your answers—it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else—it just has taste of power and feel right.

MY YEARS SO FAR:

2023: Year of the Bold Hedgewitch Dictum

2024: Year of the Unfettered Nidhoggr Lyric

2025: Year of Shimmering, Tenacious Receptivity

We are almost two weeks into the new year—it’s not too late to try this. If you do, let me know what you have named your 2025!

Missives from the Verge with Allyson Shaw is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.