December 23 – New Name
Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?
At one time, I would have answered with my middle name. It was supposed to be my birth name, and I've always wondered what my life would be like with that name. Now, I don't care. I didn't change my name when I married. I am my name, I am who I am, and would not ever pretend to be someone else to meet you.
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December 24 – Everything’s OK
What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?
One balmy early morning, my husband and I went outside to complete a loop around the reservoir. We glanced at the clouds growing heavy and dark, but continued on our way as they carried no threat. I cranked up my iPod, stretched less than I should and took off with my husband already ages ahead of me. I felt a little sad that he wouldn't keep pace with me, but didn't say anything because I wanted him to enjoy his exercise. I also thought to myself how we were really not in pace in our real life, we were fighting a lot and stressed out about dumb stuff. And so we both ran, seperately, trying to sort the things in our heads to make sense of them.
As I rounded the reservoir, approaching the half way point, the sky filled with a jagged arc of light and a crack I heard through Def Leppard. The sky was purple black, with rolling clouds. I saw my husband stop and turn towards me, his face a mix of surprise and anxiety. To return home, our only choice was to finish the loop. I picked up speed, turning off my iPod and tucking it into my top as it began to drizzle. I caught up to him, and panted, "We'll have to run the rest of the way!" He nodded, and we began running together. I felt him become protective, watching for me. I felt strong, keeping pace, aware of the danger.
The sky opened up, drenching us. I didn't think I could do it: I would have walked by then. My lungs were bursting, my legs aching, but I could not stop. He reached for my hand, and we ran, hand in hand, in the lighting and rain. We arrived home in relief, and started talking about all the craziness of our stresses, and how much we needed each other, and in what ways.
That day, we both knew that things would be okay, as long as we were working together.
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December 25 – Photo – a present to yourself
Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
I made a decision to not show myself or anyone I know on here. I'm just not ready for it. So I can't show you some great ones, like the one of me at Christmas that my husband took that just looks like me. So instead, I direct you to the one that I use for the header of this blog.
I took this in the midst of the Creative Bootcamp, while driving to work, stopped at a stop light. Over the past month, I had been taking many photos like this in the rear view mirrors. I'm not sure why, but I was obsessed with it. I love this photo because it feels like summer to me, I can feel the air and the freedom of summer. The image is of the road behind me, but it appears to be the road ahead. Which is very much me: I'm an analyzer and a reminiscer, I look behind to give me an indication of where to go next.
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Two tools to help plan the year ahead (its not too late!):
How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review
The author to the above link recommends setting aside a week to work on evaluating last year and setting goals for the next one. Yikes. He also attaches a handy excel spreadsheet, which I do luv. I'm a dork and already have my year goals set up in a similar format. Now I will go through and fill it all in, so I have to actually start doing something. Darn it.
How to Create Your Personal Manifesto
I absolutely love the above link. On my list of things I want to do is something very similar to something the author recommends, a vision map. I've been collecting materials towards this image of a strong runner, an athlete, so I can place it next to my bed when I struggle to get up in the morning! As for goals, I'm visualizing this beautiful image of collaged words in great fonts, framed and hanging in an office. Send me your goals and I'll make you something like this!
Join Here: Reflect on this year & manifest what's next
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