i don't really do resolutions anymore, but if there is one thing i want to really focus on this year, it's taking better care of myself in every way.
2022 was a year of a lot of change for me, transitioning into full time freelance work after spending my whole life in the education system, changes in my core family, finishing therapy after three years.
so this year, i'm working on finding a balance in my new reality. work-life-balance, and a lot of not letting my anxiety get in the way of things. travel a bit, see my friends, go to all the concerts, play my guitar and sing, move my body, read good books. we'll see how it goes!
Thank you for these lovely thoughts Jana! It's a privilege - to get a glimpse and insight into another's journey. I also went through a long therapy, one of the most important decisions I ever made in my life. So much of the work is so deep. But I always remember a sentence at the end of one session: "there's good stuff out there for you, Jamie". Until that point, I really struggled with the idea of hope at all; mainly because so much of what I felt was so painful and overpowering. The possibility of health is not a fanciful dream - it just takes commitment and work. Be proud of all these steps you are making! Your list at the end - well, that is awesome. I should scrub out my funny abstractions and just put in yours!
Thank you for sharing that! I have never once regretted going into this therapy, it was hard but it so much good came from it. And I still have a lot to work through, but I have all the tools I need to do so at this point, and it really is getting better. What everyone kept telling me all those years is right, there *is* a light at the end of the tunnel.
Oh, I love your abstractions! I just took what made me the happiest in 2022 and I am taking that into this new year with me. But I could really break my plans for this year down into this: find inspiration even in the mundane, and learn to be utterly and unapologetically myself!
Glorious words - "to be utterly and unapologetically myself" - go gal!
And that was also one of my fundamental lessons in therapy:
That you have all the tools you need inside you.
Sometimes it's just a case of having the courage to excavate them. They are always available and can never be destroyed. Just get covered up sometimes by "world-muck".
I love how the Zen Buddhists put it. To "find the face we had before we were born"
That is it! We can overcome anything; we just need to find the courage to confront what the world has thrown at us and clear the rubble. But the rewards are so great, and life is so beautiful. Even if, as was one of my most important lessons from therapy, I'm not 100 % where I want to be, because perfection is an illusion.
"New year, new you" always has the bad aftertaste of "you are not good enough as you are" and I am working hard to resist that thought.
Yet, January usually means I don't have many plans in terms of traveling and a lot of time to reflect. So I often use it to get back into exercising if I have fallen off the wagon. I do not like workouts, but I know they will make me feel better in the long run so that is why I commit to them. This, however is a yearly thing and not so much a resolution, a routine more than a plan.
This past year I have tried to catch up on so much I missed during the two pandemic years so I have traveled a lot and see lots of concerts. It was great fun, but I do feel exhausted, so the one overall plan I have for this new year is: S l o w d o w n ! Get over the FOMO, you can't do everything and you can't be everywhere and that's OK. Choose wisely.
Here's a list of ideas for things I wanna do in 2023:
- see friends as often as possible
- make memories
- continue to go to concerts that will make me happy
- play my ukulele (badly!)
- see a play or a few, preferably in London
- rest when I need it
- not feel guilty when I realize I can't manage everything I thought I'd do
- capture travels and concerts with my camera, but also enjoy moments without
"I am enough" - and the aspiration to grow and become - is a tough balance sometimes. I don't think they are mutually exclusive though.
For me it always manifest in the tension between "being and doing".
To "be" within life - and feel gratitude to the miracle.
To "do" - in the action of growing and resolution for new life.
I think people are sometimes a little cynical about January fitness rebounds. Sure we fall off the wagon - but anything that gets us moving at any time of your is a good result. Movement is always good!
A good resolution too - to slow down, to let the energy build. Going "at it" in life is wonderful, but the modern world is hungry beast and addicted to energy fuel.
I subscribe to JOMO - the joy of missing out, haha. It means I'm entering a meditative state, and indicates I'm doing something for me.
Thank you for the list - and for your wonderful support - it means the world.
I agree that it is a tought balance at times, but not mutually exclusive. There is always room to grow. There is always time to grow as ell, it dow not need to be tied to a new year.
As for being and doing. I find myself getting lost in the doing at times and forget about being - both are important for me to keep the balance.
JOMO is a great idea. I shall keep that in mind. Thank you.
Late to the party, as usual. I’m never ready for the new year when new year comes. Always still in hibernation. I found it utterly overwhelming that the 7 Days of Rest organized for the first seven days of the year were SO filled with offerings! That was utterly not restful. I’m approaching this year (still new to me despite being nearly three weeks old) with curiosity. Listening is one of my intended areas for deepening. And there are a couple of projects and stacks of books awaiting me.
May I recommend the poet & storyteller, Tom Hirons, in case you don’t already know him?
i don't really do resolutions anymore, but if there is one thing i want to really focus on this year, it's taking better care of myself in every way.
2022 was a year of a lot of change for me, transitioning into full time freelance work after spending my whole life in the education system, changes in my core family, finishing therapy after three years.
so this year, i'm working on finding a balance in my new reality. work-life-balance, and a lot of not letting my anxiety get in the way of things. travel a bit, see my friends, go to all the concerts, play my guitar and sing, move my body, read good books. we'll see how it goes!
Thank you for these lovely thoughts Jana! It's a privilege - to get a glimpse and insight into another's journey. I also went through a long therapy, one of the most important decisions I ever made in my life. So much of the work is so deep. But I always remember a sentence at the end of one session: "there's good stuff out there for you, Jamie". Until that point, I really struggled with the idea of hope at all; mainly because so much of what I felt was so painful and overpowering. The possibility of health is not a fanciful dream - it just takes commitment and work. Be proud of all these steps you are making! Your list at the end - well, that is awesome. I should scrub out my funny abstractions and just put in yours!
Thank you for sharing that! I have never once regretted going into this therapy, it was hard but it so much good came from it. And I still have a lot to work through, but I have all the tools I need to do so at this point, and it really is getting better. What everyone kept telling me all those years is right, there *is* a light at the end of the tunnel.
Oh, I love your abstractions! I just took what made me the happiest in 2022 and I am taking that into this new year with me. But I could really break my plans for this year down into this: find inspiration even in the mundane, and learn to be utterly and unapologetically myself!
Glorious words - "to be utterly and unapologetically myself" - go gal!
And that was also one of my fundamental lessons in therapy:
That you have all the tools you need inside you.
Sometimes it's just a case of having the courage to excavate them. They are always available and can never be destroyed. Just get covered up sometimes by "world-muck".
I love how the Zen Buddhists put it. To "find the face we had before we were born"
That is it! We can overcome anything; we just need to find the courage to confront what the world has thrown at us and clear the rubble. But the rewards are so great, and life is so beautiful. Even if, as was one of my most important lessons from therapy, I'm not 100 % where I want to be, because perfection is an illusion.
"New year, new you" always has the bad aftertaste of "you are not good enough as you are" and I am working hard to resist that thought.
Yet, January usually means I don't have many plans in terms of traveling and a lot of time to reflect. So I often use it to get back into exercising if I have fallen off the wagon. I do not like workouts, but I know they will make me feel better in the long run so that is why I commit to them. This, however is a yearly thing and not so much a resolution, a routine more than a plan.
This past year I have tried to catch up on so much I missed during the two pandemic years so I have traveled a lot and see lots of concerts. It was great fun, but I do feel exhausted, so the one overall plan I have for this new year is: S l o w d o w n ! Get over the FOMO, you can't do everything and you can't be everywhere and that's OK. Choose wisely.
Here's a list of ideas for things I wanna do in 2023:
- see friends as often as possible
- make memories
- continue to go to concerts that will make me happy
- play my ukulele (badly!)
- see a play or a few, preferably in London
- rest when I need it
- not feel guilty when I realize I can't manage everything I thought I'd do
- capture travels and concerts with my camera, but also enjoy moments without
- remain curious
Totally hear your Stef!
That balance between:
"I am enough" - and the aspiration to grow and become - is a tough balance sometimes. I don't think they are mutually exclusive though.
For me it always manifest in the tension between "being and doing".
To "be" within life - and feel gratitude to the miracle.
To "do" - in the action of growing and resolution for new life.
I think people are sometimes a little cynical about January fitness rebounds. Sure we fall off the wagon - but anything that gets us moving at any time of your is a good result. Movement is always good!
A good resolution too - to slow down, to let the energy build. Going "at it" in life is wonderful, but the modern world is hungry beast and addicted to energy fuel.
I subscribe to JOMO - the joy of missing out, haha. It means I'm entering a meditative state, and indicates I'm doing something for me.
Thank you for the list - and for your wonderful support - it means the world.
Ukelele on!
I agree that it is a tought balance at times, but not mutually exclusive. There is always room to grow. There is always time to grow as ell, it dow not need to be tied to a new year.
As for being and doing. I find myself getting lost in the doing at times and forget about being - both are important for me to keep the balance.
JOMO is a great idea. I shall keep that in mind. Thank you.
Absolute pleasure - have a great week ahead Stef!
Late to the party, as usual. I’m never ready for the new year when new year comes. Always still in hibernation. I found it utterly overwhelming that the 7 Days of Rest organized for the first seven days of the year were SO filled with offerings! That was utterly not restful. I’m approaching this year (still new to me despite being nearly three weeks old) with curiosity. Listening is one of my intended areas for deepening. And there are a couple of projects and stacks of books awaiting me.
May I recommend the poet & storyteller, Tom Hirons, in case you don’t already know him?