At least once a year, I am left with a present somewhere in my studio. It’s a little unnerving to find and I always wonder if its former occupant is somewhere nearby, waiting to watch the look on my face when I discover my new gift.
Yes, that is a snake skin. This year, it was a little over 5 feet long. A friendly fellow, I am sure. (I hope!) Likely a black snake who, along with his feline co-habitants, help to keep the mouse population in check around here.
As the new year knocks on our doors come the end of December, I think about what skins I want to shed and leave behind and what new skin I might want to acquire. At this age I find myself, more than ever, comfortable in my current skin. Not too tight yet not too wrinkly (yet 🙂 ). Perhaps I will try and stay in it for a bit longer. Instead of shedding what I have this year, I think I will put my efforts into growing a little further into who I am, working a little harder at discovering just how pliable and akin to new learning that skin of mine is. Perhaps I will take my photography out a bit further, push myself a little harder when I run. Or maybe I will give myself permission to take an occasional day and do nothing but play in my studio. I hope I can be a better human being in the upcoming year, whatever that means for me.
Yes, I think I will keep my skin for now. I’ll rub in some sweet, scented lotion to soften it up, and stretch out in it, just a bit.