Hey you!It's a brand new year.
There's nothing like a clean slate.
I haven't blogged for so long I couldn't remember the password, but after a little diligence and last week's sweet encouragement from Marilyn, I'm ready for 31 days of posts full of Tiny Resolutions That Could Change Your Life. They'll at least structure mine for a while. I hope you'll play along. Most of these challenges will require only a bit of time or energy. If you don't have the opportunity to complete them the day they are posted, try them any time this year. And let me know what they bring you. I encourage you to get yourself a nice little notebook to keep track of the list and your efforts.
Let's get started with a little polishing of the slate.
Write down ten things you appreciated from the last year.
Write down a few things you'd like to leave in 2013.
Now write a few things you'd like to see more of in 2014.
Bonus points: Do a little ritual cleanse. This can range from a polar plunge or candlelight bath to a clearing of a meditation space or a symbolic washing of your hands or face. As you do so, see if you can really feel the intention of bringing freshness and blessings to your new year and leaving behind some of the disappointments of the last.
Watch this space for new challenges each day.
I hope you had a good start to your new year. I got in a walk in the woods though like the blog, it was a later start than I'd imagined. But every moment offers a new beginning. May your house be blessed.
Jana
Quote of the day:
"For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning."
TS Eliot
Song of the day: Let it go, says Harry Manx
Shout out of thanks to Marie L for today's quote and Marilyn for the cheerleading.
10 comments:
I did the last two at a burning bowl ceremony at church last Sunday.
Sandy and Tanna did your first challenge together! Thank you, Jana!
Happy New Year to my favorite therapist poet. And thank you for the advice about making mistakes. The timing is perfect: I am about to retire, and, following that, to leave for Thailand for almost six weeks. Planning a visit to Angkor Wat, where I have always wanted to go. But after that?? What to do, who am I, what do I want? So many questions lie ahead, but, this time, necessity does not drive the answers. I am set to try new things and make a LOT of mistakes. So thanks for the encouragement to try and fail. That makes sense to me!
Well, that was interesting... a great exercise... could only find one thing I wanted to leave behind. Unfortunately, I'm still working on it.
APPRECIATIONS:
My son has a good job and a sweet girlfriend and a new apartment.
My daughter has a good job and is finishing her schoolwork and has a boyfriend and a new home.
In February, I met a wonderful mandolin player who has become very important to my heart.
I keep playing fiddle.
My new job as a reporter ROCKS and I love the work and the staff.
Happy Valley, Cowan Creek Mountain Music School, Swannanoa Old Time Gathering
I love my fiddle teacher and his generous spirit.
My housemate is leaving this month and I will live alone FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
I have traveled widely and found my way to a beautiful new beginning.
Is that ten?
WOULD LIKE TO RELEASE:
old patterns of expressing feelings with so many words and overwhelming other people without considering their feelings
would like to sell the houses in Muscatine, Iowa, and Old Fort, NC
WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE:
playing fiddle and writing my novel
hiking outside and more yoga
ummm, my paycheck
I could fill a bushel basket full of gratitudes. Leave behinds--yes, dragging them along is getting tiresome. Mores--I put down kittens, I want kittens, yesterday. Today our old dog died. Now I need to reflect on good byes and peace.
So what's for day 2, m'dear?
Cindy
Happy New Year!
Enough gratitudes for a bushel basket. And that's not even counting the Dalai Lama.
Leave behinds--enough, gotta clean those up.
Mores? I put down kittens, and today we lost our old dog. Saying good bye is tough. Not ready for hellos for a while. You never know, though.
What's for today, m'dear?
More: walking, hiking, climbing on sidewalks, streets, trails, parks, hills, mountains, with friends old and new.
More: music-making all styles, writing pomes and songs.
Less: Facebook
Less: eating mindlessly
Less: old anger and hurts
Too personal to publish all, but family was a big part of the first, wrestling with the sometimes monster of work was in the second, taking better care of myself, my loved ones and occasional strangers in the last.
thank you sisters and brothers for bringing us along on your work.
i am removing fingernail by grasping fingernail from some sad and bitter narratives about loss and unfairness. i am welcoming more writing, art, deep conversation and trust. i feel good.
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