“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’ve never liked the idea of New Years’s Resolutions…they always seem like just things you say that you think sound good, but deep down you know you aren’t going to still be doing in two weeks. Instead, I like to think of a few intentions for the year. Last year, I started out sort of in limbo, since I had a health issue going on, but I wasn’t really sure what ‘the issue’ was. I remember setting an intention to meditate more, drink more water (always on my list, ugh) and practice yoga more because my body was craving easier, slower paced workouts at the time. Then, in late January, I had a couple of biopsies and my whole focus changed.
Suddenly I was pushed into a frantic quest for my health. Health is one of the many things we take for granted in our daily lives. We just expect it to be there, even when we are not doing the things necessary to maintain it, we still feel entitled to it. {Which just might be the definition of crazy.} Then when it disappears, sometimes in the blink of an eye, we are left blind-sided and frantically seeking, begging, pleading, praying for it back. (Side note: You can insert almost any word for the word ‘health‘ above…friendship, love, marriage, money, faith….all things in life take maintenance and care to flourish).
Chasing down wellness this past year was quite the journey. First and foremost, I had to release the fear that surrounds the word cancer. (This took awhile). I worked through some past hurts. I forgave others and more importantly, myself. I found my voice. I found a NEW normal. I finally let go of the crutch of alcohol. I changed how I eat and think about food. I came to understand that people, even those who love you, won’t understand, and that’s okay. I focused, A LOT, on getting my immune system running efficiently, reducing stress, increasing sleep, increasing movement and detoxing my body and life {shew}. I learned that my purpose is to share the unique perspective/knowledge this journey is giving me and I’m ready to expand and use that knowledge with even more focus and clarity in 2019.
This year I want to give my year a focus word, a mantra, that encompasses my goals and gives intention to 2019. Initially I thought ‘Wellness’ but as I worked through writing this post I realized that wellness is my daily practice now. So I needed something else, something that I’m not so good at. Something that I can put into the query “Does this support my _____?”, answer yes or no and then commit to an action based on the answer.
And so my word for 2019, which I think is kind of appropriate since I have always signed my posts here giving “Light and Love” to my readers, is Lightness.
My Intention: I want lightness of being.
My Affirmation: I align myself with peace and calm. I am aligned with the joy and light of my highest self.
My Mantra: Lightness.
I also love this poem I found…
Live with intention. Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Practice wellness.
Play with abandon. Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love and live as if
this is all there is.
-Joan Hyman
Thanks for the lessons 2018….NEXT!
Light and Love,
♥K