Today, 1 B’atz invites us to plant the seed of a creative project, begin weaving the threads of our artistic vision with joy and playfulness, and remember that creativity itself is the purpose, not the finished product.
Essential Questions
- What creative project is asking to be born through me?
- How can I approach my creative work with more playfulness and less perfectionism?
- What threads am I ready to weave together?
- What am I creating?
- What threads am I gathering?
- What legacy am I weaving?
B’atz Trecena Overview
The B’atz trecena is a 13-day journey through weaving, creativity, playfulness, and the threads of time. B’atz is the cosmic jester, the artist, the storyteller, reminding us that life is a tapestry woven from countless moments, choices, and creative expressions.
This energy invites us to honor the artist within, to play with color and form, and to recognize that every day we are weaving the story of our lives. B’atz teaches that creativity is the pulse of being alive.
I’ve lived in Guatemala since August 6, 2009 (6 Kej, my own nawal!) and on Lake Atitlán since June 15, 2012 (10 B’atz). This lake is the place I feel most at home on the planet, though I’m always learning to feel more at home in my body, mind, and heart as time spirals upward.
Each day, I gaze upon the sparkling lake and the three volcanoes on her southern shores. Life here has taught me to seek and find balance, from moment to moment and day to day. Through it all, I’ve discovered a new definition of freedom. Both the external freedom I had sought through travel and adventure and an internal freedom rooted in responsibility, acceptance, presence, peace, and gratitude.
It has taken me over a decade of study and practice to feel like I am living with the calendar in a meaningful way. Ultimately, the calendar is an invitation to know myself better. It offers a perspective of time that helps me become fully present in the moment, which I access through the integration of heart and mind in my human body. With time, the nuances of how the calendar affects my life blossom as I follow the sacred count of days and notice the cycles and patterns.
Today, here and now, I am entering the world again. With greater gratitude for my life and existence, for the elements and directions, the natural beauty of the lake, the kindness of the sky, the joy of the songbirds, and the gratitude of the coffee trees that surround me.
I tend to want to write everything in its final form at the beginning. But writing doesn’t work like that. You just have to write, let the words come out. Editing comes later. I’m writing the story to honor it; I’m editing it to let it go.
Everyone has a story to tell and this is mine.
Maltiox, Nawal B’atz.
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