January, the month of new beginnings and cherished memories, beckons.
Come, let winter weave her wondrous spell: cold, crisp, woolen-muffler days,
long dark evenings of savoury suppers, lively conversations, or solitary joys.
Outside the temperature drops as the snow falls softly. All of nature is at peace.
We should be, too. Draw hearthside. This is the month to dream, to look forward
to the year ahead and the journey within.
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~
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Happy New Year, my dear reader friends!
How are you on this January morning? The pages of the calendar have turned, and a fresh new year awaits us. There are 365 days ahead of us...all full of possibility and the chance for something magical to happen. There are places to explore, stories to tell and books to read, music to listen to, new hobbies to try, plenty of room for fun and laughter and learning all sorts of new things. There are days of adventure and evenings of home comforts. There are dreams to dream and watch come true. There is room for wonder and whimsy in even the most ordinary of days. There is beauty to encounter and seek out and find by accident, too. There is the possibility for something w o n d e r f u l to happen.
It's all just right there waiting for us. A whole new year. A fresh beginning. A clean slate.
2 0 2 3 .
This welcoming in of the new year begs me to share these most appropriate words from Anne Frank...
"What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't happened yet."
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Around the time of the ending of one year and the start of another, there is lots of talk about resolutions and goals and of aspirations to become a newer, better version of yourself. What if, instead, of focusing on all these grand changes and aspirations we focused on being content and confident in who we already are? What if we finally, for once and for all, realized that we actually are enough? What if instead of wanting to make huge changes in our lives in order to "better ourselves" we decided to accept ourselves exactly the way we are? What if we finally became comfortable in our own skin and with our personalities just the way they are? What if we simply just let ourselves be?
What kind of year would you have if you allowed positive thinking to become the norm in your life? Especially speaking positively about yourself and to yourself? What if instead of trying to be someone you aren't just because it's what everyone says you have to be, you were finally yourself? The real, true, one and only Y O U !
What if the goals we had were really pretty small and ordinary and not really all that social-media-worthy? Things like making sure to drink enough water each day and take our vitamins and move our bodies some every single day. Getting some fresh air no matter the weather. More nature, less screens. Taking the time each and every day to enjoy something fun like a good book or a hobby or having a mini spa night at home. Saying NO to being around toxic people, even if it may hurt their feelings; they’ve hurt you long enough. And saying NO to things you don’t want to do or just because…you don’t need to explain yourself to anyone. What if we finally really started protecting our wellbeing and our mental and emotional health? What about wearing clothes that you like regardless of what's on trend or what anyone else thinks? Trying new recipes each week or sampling new teas here and there. Picking somewhere close to home and spending a day exploring that area. Practicing speaking kindly to yourself and not putting yourself down. Do you ever notice that we speak to and about ourselves in ways that we would never dream of doing about another person? What if we were gentle with ourselves when we don't do something perfectly or when we just need a day to rest and renew ourselves?
Gentleness. Kindness. Easiness. Love. Patience. Positivity.
Towards yourself. Towards others. Towards the world.
Expect good. Expect to be dazzled. Expect to be overcome with wonder and beauty.
Expect to be delighted. Expect to laugh and love. Expect happiness and bliss.
I don't know about you, but those seem like much more lifegiving "resolutions" to have than something big or grand or extraordinary. Sometimes the simplest things put together have the biggest impact...on ourselves and those around us and on the world as a whole. Sometimes simple really is best.
And some years, those simple things are needed even more than others. Simplicity rather than grand ambitions and overwhelming goals. After the last year I lived through, these simple things are what I need. No attaining for something that overwhelms me or trying to reach goals that I place too high for myself. Simply living each day taking small steps in the right direction I wish to go, trusting Life and fate and nature for all the rest.
You all know that I struggle with anxiety and intrusive thoughts; I've shared about this before. But the experiences I had this past year brought a whole new level of trauma with it and so my level of anxiety has been up, and my mind has been going crazy with intrusive thoughts. Not all the time, but certainly more than usual. It's normal with what my family lived through in 2022. But gentleness, kindness, patience, love, easiness, and positivity towards myself is just what I need for 2023. That and a good, hearty dose of expecting good things and dreaming once again. I've had some particularly hard days over the past couple of months. And the end-of-year always was an anxious time for me anyways, before our 2022 experiences. Maybe that's you, too. And if it is, you are not alone. I'm walking right beside you, taking one step at a time, choosing one good thing after another, being gentle with myself, speaking kindly to myself and allowing positivity to become my norm. And sometimes, just those things feel like the greatest achievement of all.
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Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe there is a loving Source- a Sower of Dreams- just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true...Time is the New Year's bountiful blessing: three hundred sixty-five bright mornings and starlit evenings; fifty-two promising weeks; twelve transformative months full of beautiful possibilities; and four splendid seasons. A simply abundant year to be savoured.
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~
Happy New Year, dearest readers!
May it be magical and oh so wonder-filled!
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