Technically, it's no different than any other day, but it just screams "possibilities" to me. Possibilities for new and exciting things to happen. Possibilities for new ventures, choices, and priorities. There is just something about a new year that is exciting and fresh. It's funny how possibilities we hope for change as we mature and our perspectives change.
My list used to look something like this: This year I want to lose weight so I can feel good in a bikini this summer. I want to be more organized. I want to keep the house clean at all times, etc.
But time changes things.
For instance, this is not the year that I care to be able to wear a two-piece in the summer. This is the year I hope to feel better and stronger and be able to enjoy every second at Disney with my kids because I have more energy. And it will just be an added bonus if I'm able to wear a bathing suit without a skirt thingie attached.
It's the year I want to focus first and foremost on my family, even more fiercely than I always have, because time is moving forward at an incredibly breathtaking speed, and my children are my world. If my 'tween wants me to do something with him, I will drop the dust rag in mid-air, hurdle the couch, and run to his side because those moments he wants his Mom will become more and more fleeting as his focus begins to be more frequently on friends.
This will be the year I nurture that handful of life-changing female friendships that feed your soul as we navigate life together. Those friendships that weather all the trials of life, and though life changes and throws its share of curve balls, the love in those friendships never changes. I adore mine. We all need those "Golden Girls" we plan to sip tea with on the lanai.
And this is the first time that as the new year approaches, the need to simplify is burning like a fire within me. A dear friend of mine recently moved and downsized and simplified. As I walked into her home for the first time, I could literally feel peace wash over me. Everything in her home was deliberate and meaningful, something worth paying attention to for sure. Yet, the freedom from all of the hoards of stuff was freeing. It is something I want to try to duplicate this year. The sense of peace is worth it.
Also, this year I want to stop glorifying "busy." I am starting to realize that being busy doesn't mean you are important or more worthy or any of those things. It simply means you are busy, perhaps having less time for the more important, authentic things. And what is really good about that? Being busy only means less time for board games, walks, talking in front of the fireplace. This year I 'm going to try to be less busy.
Creativity will also take a front burner this year. I have truly come to believe that nurturing your creative spirit is the key to almost everything. Wherever your creativity lies...use it. I just know it's the key to happiness, and pretty much everything good flows from that. Now that I have a new printer to replace the broken one, I'm ready to send out manuscripts again. I've given up on the myth of perfection. My new motto is just to keep writing, and things will happen.
This year I am going to try to realize that a little love goes a long way. Small acts of kindness change the world. I know that in this over-reported, over-documented world, where every topic from small things to big things are debated in a social forum and opinions are spewed and venom is spewed, I'm going to remember that non-judgement and love go a long way.
This is pretty much my list for this new and exciting year. A list much different from years past. But I'm not going to pretend like some of my past wishes still don't bleed into the present. There is a part of me that would really love to not just get stronger but also see that scale go down 25 pounds. But if I get healthier and stronger and that doesn't happen, I will just fall back on the wise words of a friend who told me that she read that if you carry a big purse it makes you look smaller. Maybe I will just see what's new in 2014's line of Samsonite duffels.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Please share your hopes for 2014. I would love to hear them!
Melissa
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