First of all, happy new year to you and GRAND RISING.

I know it may not feel like it means much because of all of the blended foolishness for all of our timelines since 2020, but if you can read this, you made it through something…and for that, you should celebrate a little.

I don’t know about you, but I felt a sense of restoration this morning. It’s notable because Mondays have been tough for me for about…oh, around 26 years or so (my life has been corporate or closeted the whole time until recently).

Now, this does NOT mean that everything that was dusty and incomplete on my shelf will get resurrected. This also does not mean that people who left my life are welcomed back, though some of them may expect to be.

What it DOES mean is that I have a sense of urgency to re-evaluate meanings and impact to see alignment and if I don’t, you’re getting scrapped, old screenplay.

THIS restoration feeling hit in a very specific way this new year. This one came with new rules about what doesn’t belong even if I wanted it to belong.

As in…I may have love for a project or a person and still need to leave it/them behind me.

Snoop Dogg has this great interview clip about ‘the gap’ and how he left some homies behind that couldn’t keep up with his growth, because sinking to their level would erase the growth he’d achieved.

Why diminish what it took blood, sweat, tears and pain for me to attain to sit in the mire of something else/someone that doesn’t align with the ‘grown’ me?

Examples from my own life - I don’t mind sharing.

• So, I’ve learned to be clearer and more succinct in my writing after 5 years of intentional practice. Why publish something NOW that DOESN’T reflect my growth in it?

• I’ve learned how to stand up for myself and communicate in a way that not only dignifies me but also honors my relationships/partnerships/alliances/promises. Why would I engage with anyone that refuses to do the same NOW? Why would I pick today to engage with energy that can’t communicate (or does not make the effort to do so) the way I would or do?

• I’ve learned about my own creative process and that I am more communal than I will EVER BE competitive, so I am intentional about what I produce and who I choose to work with. I just don’t like how that energy affects the art and my focus is on my audience and the effect I want to have on them. Why would I ever work with or worry about those that are all about competing in a way that feels wrong to me? Why would I try to create art with people that don’t align with at least some of my sensibilities and makes my art less fun, less dignified, less professional, just less of what I am meant to create in this world with others who DO want to create like me?

Even my old projects are making me look at old binders and say ‘level up or get left’ because this creator’s mindset is real and needs to be flowing forward untethered.

Restoring my mind to not owe anyone else any explanations of my timelines or methods is the newest piece of growth I am experiencing. I use to put it on being an empath. I want to honor others with explaining my ‘no’s’ was something that I use to do…not anymore.

And it’s not even because I have less desire to. I simply do not have the time due to what my own ‘level up’ requires of me today.

And this is just one tiny level higher than I’ve been, but it is a glimpse into the future and what will be required of me on a bigger level VERY SOON. Lot’s on the horizon this year (I hope you’re staying tuned in and are as excited as I am! :))

Restore your body, mind, schedule and peace by doing a detox of anything that does not align with your mind today.

Clear things up or out. See what aligns NOW. Dignify those who DESERVE it. Yes. That is correct. I used a judgment word that creates space for you to discern the worth of things and people in your life. (Yup. I just judged, so hate me Millennials and Gen Z - everyone ain’t special and ain’t always worthy of YOU - that’s right, I said it.)

Why? Because needs must.

Restore your own dignity for your time and space on this planet by restoring what and with whom you share any of it. Be RUTHLESSLY RESTORATIVE to yourself and just watch how much you expand.

I have a good friend on the local comedy scene here in New Orleans that reminded me once about a year or so ago to ‘level up’ when she caught me about to do something that was not aligned to how I’ve obviously grown up to that point. It was a simple two words that gave me a healthy pause. I feel like I’ve been doing this ever since she said it to me in almost every area of my life (Thanks, Amanda G.!)

Restoration also can mean to rehabilitate or recondition the state of something…so, take that as you will and make your year something else…something specifically special to your newer state of mind and clarity after two plagued years (Literally PLAUGED, y’all.).

You and almost everyone else on the globe sees SOMETHING differently. (Tell me I’m wrong. I’ll wait.)

So stop acting like life ain’t change after it has - for all of us. Stop acting like you don’t see and feel it. Let’s recondition how we operate to match that and level up together.