New Beginnings

As a builder’s daughter, to me this suggests all the excitement of construction. I imagine all that planning and creativity going into a new site. But when you build, you also need to clear the ground. You might even have to demolish first. Sometimes this can be a joyous orgy of guilt-free destruction!

For us as people, we can often need to get rid of old stuff; chuck out the metaphorical chintz. The post-Christmas period can be a good time to shift physical and mental clutter. Are there projects that need to go, ways of working that hold you back? This is the time to be honest with yourself and get shot of them. I admit it can be sad to let go of unfinished dreams. It’s like clearing a neglected garden. But the taller the construction, the deeper you have to dig the foundations.

After the Twelfth Night, taking the Christmas decorations down leaves your house clean and perhaps a little austere. Clearing your working area, and your mind, of muddle can feel that way too. But think of the new bare space like an expanse of pristine snow – just waiting for you to put your mark on it.

What new and wonderful creation will happen there? A new year or a blank page is an adventure – are you prepared for it?

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@lockwoodwriter

K. M. Lockwood is a writing name of Philippa R. Francis. Once a primary school teacher, she became a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at West Dean College in 2011. Her story The Selkies of Scoresby Nab was short-listed for the Mslexia Children’s Novel Competition and long-listed for the Times Chicken House in 2012/13. She was born in Yorkshire but now lives by the coast in Sussex. Her writing shows her deep fascination with British folklore and the sea. Her interests include reading, scuba diving and belly dancing, though not at the same time. She also blogs at the-wedding-ghost.blogspot.co.uk