Falling back in love with life (Mapambo Adornments: Edition 2024:1)

In this edition: Setting a gentle course for 2024 & plans for this Substack

Jan 02, 2024

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Why Adornments? Just as the mapmakers of old used to add embellishments around the edges of their maps, I like to think of all the bits in this letter as adornments to life. If you enjoy reading this, I’d really love to hear from you (either hit Reply or leave a comment below). If you read via the Substack app, you can also share, like or restack this - all are welcome and much appreciated!

In this edition, I’m sharing a vision for 2024, my words of the year and a few ideas of what I want to do here on Substack.

Thank you for being here

I want to start out by thanking you, my Mappery subscribers and readers. I started out with 31 subscribers in February last year and there are now 90 of you, including one paid subscriber.

Thank you for being here in this space, for being a part of my wobbly journey back into writing. Writing to you has given me an anchor for the weeks and every single little bit of attention you’ve given to my work has meant the world to me.

Setting a gentle course for 2024

I have lots of plans for this space and for my Mappery Moodles endeavour this year. My tendency is to plan things, add them to the calendar and get ready for the year ahead.

But. There’s a little voice in my head that is telling me to keep things undemanding and flexible. One thing that 2023 taught me is that making too many plans, committing to and taking on too much in a short space of time just doesn’t work for me.

I want to listen to that little voice a lot more than I ever have. I want to give that voice space to speak and be heard.

A vision for 2024 in 50 words

2023 was the year I started writing again after a wee pause, and much of what I wrote was micro fiction. In that spirit, here’s my gentle vision for 2024 in fifty words. Of course, you can also see it in visual / map form below.

Two words to guide me through the year
12 monthly intentions
A curious cartographer, setting an undemanding course as I journey into uncharted waters
Leaving SPACE on the journey for magical serendipity
Bringing LIGHT to my live experiences
Having countless “falling in love with life” moments
Moodling and collecting moments

What I want more of …

Every year since 2018 I’ve chosen a Word of the Year to remind me of what I want more of in my life. This year, two words have made themselves known so I’m moving ahead with them both.

I want more Space and Light - in all their forms

Space as in breathing space, physical space, containers, claiming my space, temporal space …
Light as in lighten, lighter, lightly, lightness, light-hearted and more

You can see all the ways I’m currently thinking about this in this image ⬇️ I’m sure more will come to light (😊) as the year progresses.

Space and light - Words of the Year for 2024

Falling back in love with life

More than anything, as I approach my 60th birthday, this year I want to fall back in love with life. I’m hoping that these words will help me do that. Who knows what this year will hold. All I know is that I am intentionally planning for and actively looking for those moments that will help me fall in love with life.

I already know that writing here is one way of doing this, but I’m also trying to think outside of the box and step out of my comfort zone, even if its just a little.

What are my plans for this writing space?

Like I said, I have a massive list of ideas for my creative practice both online and in real life. Here’s a few things I hope to do here on Mappery combining my art maps and writing:

Curious Questers fiction: There will be a second series of Curious Questers, where we will find out more about The Drifting Expanse, and it’s cast of characters. At the moment, this is loosely planned for sometime in February, and I’m hoping to have some guest writers collaborating on this.
My personal mapping and writing: For the Personal Atlas (Visual Memoir), I plan to share more personal map pieces and I am thinking about sharing my actual process via workshops in real life and perhaps online too, which might even be via this letter.
Daily six word stories: I’m embarking on a new daily writing project too, with a six word story every day. I want to have a whole year of these tiny stories, which I might collate into a book by December. These will be written on a map outline (one per week) and I hope to share these stories and maps here as a monthly collection. I started this last week (last year!), so here’s an example of a weekly map ⬇️

Ending off, with a wish for you all to have a 2024 that is everything you want it to be. Be well.

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