one word
December 30, 2011 § 1 Comment
Today I want to share three blogs, acknowledge three women, and embrace one word. Lisa Leonard. Brené Brown. Ali Edwards. Women whose thoughts and creativity resonate like happy echos in my heart. One blog reading into another, guiding me on a new journey. Inspiration tumbling like dominos; word by word.
Last year I happened upon Ali Edwards invitation of One Little Word to name a wish for myself for the coming year. My word called to me, whispering a personal truth. Write: for joy, for clarity, to document, and to share. My spirit soared on wings written across an endless sky.
This year, I am overwhelmed with choices. Words gather on my tongue like snowflakes. Quiet. Passion. Balance. Strength. Create. Move. Change.
Rather than listing resolutions, I am reaching for One Little Word to center me for the year ahead. What is your word?
home & holidays
December 27, 2011 § Leave a comment
The traditions and preparations that fill the month of December with busy anticipation have faded into quiet moments, unhurried afternoons of play and rest. While my children were distracted with new gifts and the company of grandparents, I stole a moment yesterday to nestle our ornaments away for the coming year.
The time between Christmas and New Year’s is a celebration of another year shared and of calendar days yet wrapped in wonder; the year ahead a gift of unknown, limitless adventure. While some draft resolutions, schedule plans, pledge promises to others; I try to create room for something new. Like a breath of fresh air waking us from dreams of sugar plums, I affectionately send Christmas to rest and draw an extra chair inviting the New Year into our home.
I gift each child a new calendar and a pen asking them to map their year with dreams. I ask them to envision not only deadlines and routines, but to seek out windows of time for travel and adventure. To look closely at the neat squares on paper that mark the year ahead with opportunity, least they overlook possibility.
theory of evolution
January 6, 2011 § Leave a comment
We make resolutions with aspirations of evolution; good intentions for self-improvement propelled forcefully into a New Year. Today, armed with enthusiasm and a project I set forth to right my domestic wrongs. My foray into organization began in the kitchen. I shifted gadgets sorting them into logical, functional spaces. I then visited my wardrobe and began a new set of questions that centered on the odds that I might in fact ever wear garments largely intended for another life. Slowly and with great hesitation I approached my daily organizational tools – the folders, drawers, and boxes where I “sort” important information concerning my children. These, the most important documents in my home, were chaos. It was with resignation and a good deal of caffeine that I spread said documents across my dining room table and began a lengthy acknowledgment that I am, indeed a mess. In the stark light of day I came to see that I have been hiding what matters beneath clean countertops, inside tidy spaces.
My initial reaction to my hidden hindrance was to brew a cup of coffee, pick-up a new book, run an errand, and plan meals for the week ahead. It must be said that I rarely plan meals in advance and this became a clear indication that I was procrastinating. I could barely look at my disheveled table without wanting to take a nap; I physically and emotionally shut down to avoid the work required to properly sort the important from the insignificant. Hours later, with a deep sigh, I forced myself into a chair and began assigning titles and thereby locations to each document. Keepsake, receipt, garbage. I could have added a dozen categories to rationalize the importance of each item, but these three simple labels allowed me the focus and direction to simplify an overwhelming task.
This challenge began with a feeling and evolved into a moment of serenity that I will carry with me into the New Year. Each day I will remember to simplify, organize, and prioritize my world that I might live in a greater state of peace and productivity.
unlisted
December 30, 2010 § 1 Comment
Thoughts flow through me with little direction and so I have come to value the quiet power of a list. From my daily to-do and encompassing whimsical daydreams, each concept seems pulled from the pages of possibility into stark reality when pen meets pad. So, to honor that strength and to gather steam for the New Year I am publishing my numbers.
1. Fitness First. I have become fluent in putting off exercise for “a little later.” Two years ago fitness was as much a part of my day as brushing my teeth and my spirit aches for that connection to my body.
2. Writing. I often overlook the simple gift of fleshing out my thoughts; when I write I seem to stumble into myself and see the world around me with greater clarity.
3. Something new. I haven’t identified a specific challenge, but I find I am most inspired when fighting to prove “I can.”
4. Presence. I am often planning ahead and not absorbing the now; less multi-tasking and more stillness.
These are the four firsts; the ideas that poke at my consciousness and beg permission to become priorities rather than possibilities. New goals unfold and make their way onto new lists, but this a beginning.
scribblechic 