As the old year gives way to the new I have just a few wishes, a few dreams.
Let me whisper them here, then so I can then let them go and welcome the New Year with all that it will bring.
This year I wish for LESS:
- Less stuff
- Less chaos
- Less worry & sadness
- Less noise
- Less weight
- Less drama
- Less inner monologue and self critique
- Less fear
- Less rushing
- Less conflict
And in the place of the things that leave I wish for this to fill the void:
- More community
- More stillness
- More laughter
- More music
- More health
- More silliness
- More silence
- More love
- More long walks
- More connection
May your 2008 be blessed and beautiful–perfect in every imperfect way.
Happy New Year!
Last week, I discovered this groovy little post over at Cool People I Know. I came to it by way of a challenge by the lovely Jen Lemen, urging us all to make a life list–to commit to paper 100 hearts desires you want to make come true.
Given that I had recently gone about rituals to shed myself of things I didn’t want (fear especially) I thought it would be a wonderful positive exercise to remind my heart of all I did want. I set about creating my list here. It took me a week.
In between loads of laundry, or heating up dinner I would steal away for 5 minutes to write down something else that had occurred to me during the day.
When I first started out, I had no idea how on earth I would get to 100. It was all I could do to admit that I really wanted the first 20 items. Its so easy to get into a mode of self-denial–of telling myself I can’t have it, so don’t ask for it–don’t dare to even wish. It dawned on me how incredibly limiting and well…crippling that can be. Afterall, the first step to making our wildest and deepest darkest dreams come true is admitting that they are there.
But the assignment was to get to 100. Stephanie and all the other cool people on this wiki were giving me permission, to go wild. I threw off the self-repression and shone a light into the dark corners of my soul where old wishes lay dormant. Pretty soon, I was cranking on my list. I had turned on a spiggot and the ideas came flooding out. Small aspirations and big wild messy dreams. I had to really think and prioritize. My top 100 dreams. Just the most important.
I have my list now and am making a point of looking at it every day. I ask myself how the actions I took today take me a tiny bit closer to crossing just one of those things off my list. Its a little map for myself–a compass to keep me pointed in my hearts true direction. I know that each dream crossed off will open the door for another to take its place and that is a beautiful thing.
In order to see my list you are going to need to create your own. Do it–I double dog dare ya…
everyone I know read this post by Jen Lemen, picked something on it and did it by Saturday next. I think the world would shift in small but amazing ways…I double dog dare ya…
My friend Jen Lemen recently posted on her blog her list of her 50 most favoritest things. I have been singing the lyrics from the Sound of Music (raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…) all day as I tried to shake the Monday (end of beautiful weekend) blues. As an exercise in focusing on the positive I decided to compose my very own list right here…right now to help me smile my way into Tuesday…
1. Maxidoodle and friends deep in conversation or in the throngs of imaginary play.
2. Taking a long quiet walk through the woods.
3. Baking bread and then eating it.
4. Armfuls of fresh cut flowers.
5. Musicals of any kind, shape or variety but especially this one.
6. Black tea with milk and sugar made for me by my father (no one makes tea like dad).
7. The smell of hyacith.
8. A fresh breeze blowing through the house.
9. The sound of a wooden screen door closing.
10. The Rhode Island shore-any month of the year.
11. The sound of my mom and aunt singing together.
13. Stationary, ribbons, stickers, journals.
14. Office supplies (I know that’s wierd but I love them, especially little flags that you can put on things to mark them as significant) and the office supply stores where you buy them.
15. A new notebook–preferably a college-rule composition book.
16. Uniball Impact RT gel pens–in black.
17. Music drifting in or out windows.
18. Wandering around a city with Anne.
19. Reading aloud and being read to.
20. Staying up really late talking.
21. First snowfalls.
22. Dancing with Max to music cranked up WAY loud.
23. The month of May.
24. Yarn stores.
25. Silk and bamboo.
26. A week at the lake in Maine.
27. Getting presents (just because). Giving presents (just because).
28. Spontaneous neighborhood get togethers.
29. Friends who show up unannounced.
30. Handwritten letters.
31. Following a stream.
32. Silence.
33. Getting up early before the world is awake.
34. Grace O’Malley
35. Bellydancing (in my kitchen or at class)
36. The moment when the phone rings and the person you were just thinking about calls you.
37. Cheese–especially gorgonzola.
38. The Enneagram
39. The library and used bookstores
40. The sound of bells.
41. Chai tea with steamed milk.
42. Drinking tea (or wine) from those wonderful cups Jackie makes that fit perfectly in your hands.
43. Dark chocolate with chili peppers and Oaxacan hot chocolate
44. Ikea and anything Swedish
45. Knitting, knitting and knitting
46. Waking up to find Rosie the cat asleep on top of me
47. Neighborhood cats and dogs who come by to say hello.
48. Sitting on the beach with Erica.
49. A good tough hike.
50. Watching Max sleep
What do you love? What warms your soul and brightens your day? If your life was a musical and you had to sing about your favorite things what would they be?
