Every time a Snake Screams A Horse Gets it's Wings

I shot this on holiday break while backpacking the Nā Mauna Huna Highlands. A mountain range that not many folks know about or dare attempt. One reason is because the volcanic terrain is so harsh that it can cause severe elephantiasis of the toe and hallucinations where you keep seeing frothy daiquiri machines. The other reason is it doesn't actually exist.

Happy 2026 folks! I don't know about you but I'm galloping out of that slimy, unsettling year and kicking up dust on the crumpled scaly skin left behind. Usually I don't pay much attention to the Chinese zodiacs in the coming year, this time however it really hits. I can tell we're all relating to it - maybe even needing it. Going from a hesitant snake, in a holding pattern, molting, and shedding, to a galloping horse with wind blowing through our hair.

2025 felt like a year where our trust was tested. Trust in our institutions, our healthcare, our political leaders, our relationships, and our job security, which can lead to a shaky trust in our capabilities and even mental health. This past challenging, sometimes conniving, year forced us to go inward and question everything. Making our movements more cautious, more reflective, shifting some close relationships and tightening others. I always felt the tone of our family's New Year's Eve, the actual night, is very telling. It tends to match the tone of the year we're coming out of. This year was subdued. Instead of the city being showered by a colorful, crackling firework show with loud booms above, it was muffled by a big, thick, cloudy hand. Almost as if to say, "ssshhhhh...not the time."

We went into the night without any expectations or big preparations. The night was really simplified, on a smaller but more meaningful scale. We came out of the holidays with no holiday cards sent out, no formal family gathering, no Christmas tree. What's interesting is, on paper, even as I currently type this, it looks sad. The reality is it didn't feel sad so much as necessary. I gotta say it was kind of nice and freeing. When you move simpler and slower, you're able to notice; notice the arts, notice the subtle humor in ordinary things, notice the poetry in the hard but sweet moments, notice the friends that have been there for you this whole time. Notice it, take stock in it, and value it. Embrace all that was shed. I think it's important to not look at the heap of dry snake skin left behind us as rubbish. Im grateful for that slower stumbly year so we are able to break out of 2025 with charged intentions; a powerful horse with forward movement.

Per usual, I find inspiration in a film, moth story, or charming neuroscientist that I stumble upon. This time is no different. I found myself on Christmas Day sitting between my mom and daughter watching "It's a Wonderful Life." Yes, I've known of it and seen bits of it, but this is the first time I watched it from beginning to end. George Bailey's journey really felt familiar, parts of it resembled me and my husband's 2025.

Like George Bailey, the year started off full of ideas and hope. Then life did its thing, and it was one roadblock after another. Bailey was ready to travel the world when his father died and left him the family business, running the Bailey Building and Loan. It was something he didn't have to take on, but he knew his role in the community was needed to protect them from Mr. Potter's iron fist. Both my husband and I work for smaller family-owned companies, in my case building my own brand and working for myself. Work that might not bring in big tech numbers but lifts our community, does greater good for physical and mental health, and doesn't feed into (or out of the hand of) a corporate iron fist. Both of us work long hours, through the holidays, where there are no paid vacations or OT. It's a labor of love for both of us, but still a push to be able to afford the next day.

George and Mary had big adventures planned after they married. However, as the prewar economy weakened and the account holders became panicky, they used their honeymoon savings to cover a bank run - an ethically generous choice. However, it further trapped George and his feelings of “being cooped up in a shabby little office.” Similarly, this year my husband and I had to cancel most of the vacations that we had planned as a family, or we just couldn't go all together because one of us had to stay back and work. The skittish economy and overpriced travel costs really put things on hold. Our plan to relocate to Europe in the upcoming school year has also been set aside while we get a handle on where the heck our industries are headed. Much like the Bailey family, we love our community, we're still here because of our community, but on the dreary dark days, we find ourselves pacing like George was at the end of the film, with an aching desire to get out of “this measly, crummy old town.”

Don't worry, we didn't hit the same rock bottom as George did at the end of the film, but we did have a series of existential moments. This year had its fair share of hard decisions and sacrifices. I don't think we are alone in this, as many of our friends and other families have experienced layoffs and unexpected financial loss. We've all been really tested. It's exhausting when effort, quality work, and the love you put into what you do still isn't reflected financially. Which forced us to stop to question our approach, our capabilities... sometimes I questioned my self-worth. Well in our case our guardian angel didn't come in the form of Clarence, an angel that fell from the sky trying to earn his wings. It's been the friends and the family members that have really shown up for us.

What has kept many of us going is simple, loving interactions. Interactions, sometimes unexpected or from unassuming people, that have made us feel less alone. The studio and teaching especially has been a very healing space. Helping others and filling other people's tanks has helped me stay full, the same way George jumping in to save Clarence saved himself. That light, cathartic feeling we create in the studio has been such necessary jumper cables for everyone's morale. The acknowledgment that what we're doing matters.

At the end of the film Clarence gave the George the gift of showing him what the world would look like without him. The effect he has on his community and how crucial his role is. Folks who love to analyze this holiday classic call it the "butterfly effect.” Which is how even the smallest actions can have far-reaching consequences. Seemingly insignificant choices and interactions play a crucial role in shaping the lives of those around us.

This week in the studio we're going to embrace the "butterfly effect," or more the winged horse that has emerged within us. Know that when you come into the studio, without having to do much at all, you are noticed, needed, and appreciated. No one is judged, no one is alone, and we would all be like Clarence. Quick to jump in after anyone that is flailing or falling. We all have little Guardian Angels through out our day ready to lift us up. Sometimes disguised as a shy neighbor, witty wine bar server, that chatty lady in Pilatecise class, or a sassy 7 yr old with dragging shoelaces and high confidence. Know that the hard shell and torn skin we left behind wasn't for nothing, it made a difference and was embraced by everyone around you more than you think.

I'll be honest, last year I was nervous to make resolutions, which is pretty on brand for 2025 - moving carefully and with a lack of trust. Proclaiming your New Years resolutions can feel like a new pen that starts off strong but quickly runs out of ink. I guess I was nervous to set myself up for failure, so I went in with a general "do better." However what last year taught me, even through the low periods where it was all tested and in question, was how capable I am. That I can weather a rough storm and actually come out wiser, stronger and more certain. So if last year was about discovering my self worth, I decided this upcoming year was acting on my self worth. Now Giddy up!! Take all those lessons and frustrations from the previous year and use that as fuel and momentum heading into the upcoming year. A powerful intentional steed, one that's not afraid to BUCK things up!

Excited to make your bodies sweat, smile, spread our wings,

and kick up dust.

XO,

Celeste

"I didn't fall in. I jumped in to save George."

~ Clarence

"You what?? To save ME!?!?"

~ George

"Well I did didn't I? You didn't go through with it did ya?"

~ Clarence

"Go through with what?"

~ George

"Suicide!"

~ Clarence

"It's against the law to commit suicide around here."

~ Bridge operator

"Yeh... it's against the law where I come from too."

~ Clarence

"Where do you come from?"

~ Bridge operator

"Heaven! Had to act quickly ... thats why I jumped in. I knew if were to drown then you'd try to save me, and you see you did. That's how I saved you."

~ Clarence