The book of Revelations has this image of the Woman of the Apocalypse, a Virgin Mary figure made of constellations that gives birth to a messiah figure at threat of being devoured by a dragon.
It's a little more specific than just constellations:
And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
This cosmic event works well as a metaphor for creative work.
When you connect the dots, it brings this virgin idea to life which then gives birth to the prophesied outcome. And that outcome is always at threat of being completely destroyed.
What you are creating is worth completing because the outcome will save people in some way but you will need to face those dragons.
It starts with connecting your dots.
I immerse myself in entertainment, entrepreneurship and education. This has been a conscious decision to work on myself, both personally and professionally, and has been a useful tool for working through grief and frustration.
To divide myself into just entertainment, or just entrepreneurship, or just education would be boxing me into environments contrary to the way I like to learn. But by embracing all three, has me walking a path completely unique to myself and what I learn here will be mine alone to share.
There's something to the idea of leaving each other breadcrumbs. That no matter how our impact plays out in the history books, whether regarded or discarded, that the events of your life and the knowledge you shared could have been read by someone who was able to build upon your foundation and create a great impact.
When you take into perspective how small we are and how murky the notion of truth can be; you get to give yourself permission to simply be amused. Amused by the absurdity, the choice to see it as the adventure that it is, and the courage to be optimistic enough to put in the work, despite the outcome.
This new year will be exactly that, a new year, and who can say no to a blank canvas when the paint is right at your fingertips?