By the time this column comes out and you get a copy of this edition of The Philippine Times, January may soon be at a close and all the excitement of the new year may have already gone. Yes, the arrival of 2016 is now‘ old news’ and we may already be referring to“ How fast time flies, sooner or later it will be Christmas yet again.”

But, let us not look way too much in advance just yet. We are still at the first quarter of the year and while new year’ s resolutions may have already been forgotten by some, I can argue that we are still on the“ fresh start” mode. And if you find that you are not, and that you are already tired, give yourself the opportunity to start again, reboot and begin

anew. Stop and catch yourself before you get into the cycle of mindless running around the hamster wheel.

A few years ago, I got into the practice of beginning the year by adopting a word – inspired by Benedictine monk Christine Valters Paintner. The word should‘ come to me’ after a period of reflection, and should guide me throughout the year. On my first year of getting into this practice, I let the word‘ slow’ guide me as I try to consciously adopt a less busier lifestyle.

The following year was a time of‘ breakthrough’ that took me to the opposite direction and a more frenzied pace, prompting me to change course mid-year and adopt the word‘ happy.’ I was glad that this change of mindset, guided along

by my word, allowed me to end 2015 on a positive note.

As I reflect on the coming of another year yet again, I welcomed the word‘ magic’ and loved it for the many possibilities it seems to refer to.

Magic, to me, means seeing the extraordinariness amidst the ordinary, finding delicious pleasures amidst the everyday, and discovering big milestones in the little moments- the smallness of life; the special pockets amidst the routine, everyday details.

Magic- and a sense of wonder!

And now, that the holidays have come and gone, and all the merry-making, now subdued. As the last of the carols fade away and wee children tire of hastily opened gifts.

As the gay wrappers, have been torn and tossed, and the last bottle of wine consumed.

Now, we usher the time of giving way, Now, we welcome the period of new beginnings.

Friends, The years of melancholy are past. The time for the big magic is here!

( For comments or feedback, email asthercreo @ gmail. com)

When I was a child, I would lock myself in my room for hours on end that mum would eventually come knocking at the door demanding I tell her what I was doing. I never gave her the same excuse I did later on as a teenager when telling a white lie was less sinful than her finding out the truth.

No, when I was a child I’ d reply to her persistent questions with one simple answer: I’ m drawing.

Around the age of eight, I discovered that I could create reality with my fingers and eyes as instruments and a piece of paper as my canvas. I drew pictures and caricatures of things that would pop in my head, usually strongly influenced by the wildly nonsensical Japanese anime characters of which I consumed with much gusto at the time. Cartoons and comic books were borne from my overactive imagination and I soon had piles of booklets filled with black and white sketching. To this day they remain in my desk drawer back at my childhood home, collecting dust as well as nostalgic significance.

Grade school introduced

me to the wonders of stringing words into sentences. When my teacher praised a short story I had written about a turtle at a crossroads and a pagan Sun God who showed him the way, I realised that I was probably doing something that I could be quite good at. Years later, I became a published freelance writer.

Lately, I’ ve begun revisiting my childhood love for art. Moving on from the monochromatic sketching of graphic novels, I’ ve discovered a new-found love in something a little more unconventional yet very colourful. I was gifted an adult colouring book and a box of brightly-tinted coloured pencils – and whilst nothing serious will come of it, what it has provided is a muchneeded outlet.

You see, I’ ve been too busy – too frenzied – and therefore, too uninspired. Commitment and responsibility sap creativity as much as it does time. You may or may not have noticed, but last year, this column was absent for many months. 2015 ended up being one hell of a teacher, and how it kicked my sorry behind!

So, when it’ s been utterly frustrating to find both the space and energy to write, colouring has become a fantastic distraction. There’ s something about the freeflowing stream of consciousness transferred physically onto a blank page without much thought or deliberation that I have found to be a great form of meditation. It clears the mind of things dark and hazy and borne from this is something colourful and beautiful.

Equally, I’ ve realised this to be a fitting analogy for life and the New Year. 2016 is a fresh page waiting to be coloured in. Your pencils are your family, your friends, your hobbies and your interests. There is no right or wrong hue and you can colour within or outside the lines. Whichever way you wish to do it, it is a new canvas that will inevitably be completed. So complete yours with freedom and confidence, and may it prove bright like a rainbow all the year through.

( For comments or feedback, email rperdio @ rocketmail. com)