Tangles & Tails: Tracey Kiff-Judson's Blog

Reframe?

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson
Category: Blog

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Thank you, Ruth, for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Please visit her blog for a bowlful of Soulful Warming. To learn more about Poetry Friday, see What in the World is Poetry Friday.

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It has been a challenging year, so I am trying to start 2026 with a new outlook. I am thinking of REFRAME as my OLW. I want to seek out the opportunities that lie within challenges. I need to believe possibilities always exist, even if they are difficult to spot at first glance.

I am feeling a little Rolling Stones - You Can’t Always Get What You Want…

 

or perhaps it is more Patti LaBelle - New Attitude…

 

or perhaps this poem by Jorie Graham captures it:

Prayer

By Jorie Graham

Over a dock railing, I watch the minnows, thousands, swirl   

themselves, each a minuscule muscle, but also, without the   

way to create current, making of their unison (turning, reinfolding,

entering and exiting their own unison in unison) making of themselves a   

visual current, one that cannot freight or sway by   

minutest fractions the water’s downdrafts and upswirls, the   

dockside cycles of finally-arriving boat-wakes, there where   

they hit deeper resistance, water that seems to burst into   

itself (it has those layers), a real current though mostly   

invisible sending into the visible (minnows) arrowing motion that forces change—

this is freedom. This is the force of faith. Nobody gets   

wat they want. Never again are you the same. The longing

is to be pure. What you get is to be changed. 

… read the rest here.

 

I’ll leave you with two quotes from Albert Eistein:

  • We can't solve today's problems with the mentality that created them.
  • Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is the language of the soul. Pay attention to your imagination and you will discover all you need to be fulfilled.

 

Hmmm, maybe REIMAGINE is even better. What do you think?

Wishing you all a wonderful 2026!

24 comments

  • I like reframe, Tracey, it 'uses' imagination, but feels a bit more restrictive, at least to me. I love that you started with those two songs - what fun! And the minnow poem, so full of swirls of "life", and the line "What you get is to be changed." seems great for beginnings. Happy New Year!  
  • I like reframe, too. You have to reimagine in order to reframe, but there is maybe a bit more deliberate action implied. Thanks for this, today. I especially love the Einstein quotes.
  • Wow,,, Tracey. Thank you for introducing me to the amazing poet. I was fascinated at how she used minnows (which I remember so well from fishing with my Dad) as a metaphor. The line that grabbed me was, "What you get is to be changed." Every current and upswirl in our life does that...
    I think your word "Reframe" is perfect. Since I saw everyone posting theirs, I have been thinking of what to choose. Maybe next weeks post :)
  • Yesterday I got a text from my brother “reframing” our father’s death because he saw a man who looked like him permanently bound to a wheelchair after a stroke. Our father’s stroke killed him. What he was trying to say was the alternative to his death might have been worse. At the time, we would have done anything to have more time with him. Reframing helps in grief and life to give us a new imagining, a way to move forward and live with the things. Thanks for sharing this poem, too, that reminds us all that change is inevitable. 
    • Margaret, it is so difficult to see our loved ones in ill health unable to seize life with their former vigor. What a challenging, but honest way to reframe the situation with your father. 
  • Tracey, your thoughts about reframing and "looking for the opportunities within challenges" stopped my downward spiral about recent events and made me ask myself, "What is the opportunity within this challenge here?" and I will use it to journal, so thank you for that, as well as the lovely "Prayer" poem. I love both "reframe" and "reimagine" so pick whatever word resonates the most with you!!! Thanks for all the hope and encouragement I found here!
     
  • Thanks so much for sharing this poem, Tracey. I wasn't familiar with it or the poet. I love how you ended with the words:
    What you get is to be changed. 
    I was especially struck by those words, and the visual image of the minnows metaphor. Lovely.
    My OLW is CLEAR with a number of different connotations. I like words that I can associate with images, and I draw the image alongside the word at the top of my to-do list each morning. I think both REFRAME and REIMAGINE are great words. 
  • I've been going back and forth between "reframe" and "release" as my OLW. I think the reason I haven't decided yet is because I need  both right now. I'm trying to reframe some past events in a more positive way and release some painful ones. Thank you for sharing a poem I've never read before. Also, I love the two songs!  As for choosing a word, just choose the one that feels right for now. I'm going to try to do the same. Happy 2026!
    • Linda, I love that we are both considering REFRAME. RELEASE pairs so nicely with it. They really go hand in hand. Wishing you reframing, releasing, and peace in the new year.
  • Hi Tracey,
    The minnow poem is exceptional. Thank you for sharing it with us. Working together is more powerful than working alone - is part of what I glean from it. I like reframe because it takes an idea and places it in a different context, whereas reimagine, to me, seems like a new idea completely. Just my two cents. I think a "new attitude" is needed. I applaud you for choosing a positive, forward-thinking way to jump into 2026. Love the music suggestions, too!  I think I'm settled on "reduce", as I introduced it as a possibility for my work last week. It fits what I need for this year. 
    • I do like REDUCE, Carol. There are so many ways to make use of that word. I love your logic on REFRAME. You are right. I think that is what I really mean.
  • Whatever word you choose, enjoy how it finds you. I know it's tough to be artistic in this time. I'm there with ya. Reframe could be a very interesting journey.
  • I'm absolutely coming back to work with some of that Mick Jagger attitude - work can't always get what they want, at least not at my expense! I seriously burned myself out trying to accommodate for our systemic shortages by doing everything myself, and I just couldn't do it. This year, I'm going to do my best, as always, but I can't do it all, and hey, if it's good enough for Mick, it's good enough for me! 
  • Terrific post Tracey overflows with inspiration! I like both reimagine and reframe, though reframe seems to pull me a bit more, maybe it’s a bit more intentional. Now I’m going to listen to all your good tunes and reread Einstein, thanks!☺️ 
  • What a fantastic poem! I love this:
    "The longing
    is to be pure. What you get is to be changed."
     
    It seems to me that REFRAME and REIMAGINE are like the art Irene shared this week -- the same thing, looking at each other in a mirror. Reframe feels more solid, while reimagine more ethereal, but aren't they really doing the same work? Keep them both, I say! 
  • I absolutely love REFRAME. Gretchen Rubin and Liz Craft talk about this a lot on their podcast. How reframing can change everything. And it's not a toxic positivity thing either. It's just changing how you see things. Love it! 

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