A Year in Review

Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.

ralph waldo emerson

Well how exciting... its that time of year again and I get to pick my word for the year. I have to admit I have a bit of of a problem with this. Last year I waffled between the word "Focus" and back to "Simplify". Ironic because I didn't keep my first choice "Focus" because I couldn't stay focused on that word to save my life. I found out about doing this "one little word" exercise over here. Anyway, I went back to and kept the my word "Simplify" which I had been using for seven years. I really liked that word and it was fitting for the changes that I was going through in my life at the time. I had pulled up stakes and made a major move out to where I live now.... California and unintentionally had a lot of baggage to go a long with this move both literally and figuratively. It has taken me a good several years to go through said baggage and simplify IT. Good golly what a mess. But what a ride it has been too. I am happy to report I feel that I have scratched the surface and at least attained a modicum of simplicity (thanks to my family who helped (threw stuff out when I wasn't looking) me sort through most of my crap).

Good golly I still haven't settled on my word for this year yet EITHER. Here are the contenders

• Gratitude
• Fitness
• Grace
• Faith
• Optimism
• Allowing
• Do It (but that's two words and that would bug me all year and I would probably switch back)
• Believe
• Imagination
  

Every year about this time I embark on a whole new set of intentions for the upcoming year. I don't call them resolutions anymore because we all know we never keep any of those past the first two weeks of the New Year. At least I haven't. Intention is just a more fitting word... it seems to me... I downloaded yet another eBook to try regarding a formula for achieving BIG goals. The first exercise it suggests we try, is to review our previous year. Grrrrr. Already hating the exercise. But I'm a good sport so I push on. After all I am trying to set a good intention. Not so great starting off with my hateful attitude as usual. ROFL. Anyway, so I adjust my bad attitude and push through all of my major resistance. So I start here's the short list:

10 great happenings from last year...

I didn't get run over by a yellow bus
That tree didn't fall from the sky and hit me

OH I'm quite sure that's not what the guy meant and no matter how hard I willed death it didn't ever happen. Only the good die young... God must not be finished punishing me yet. Snap out of it

Ok rose colored glasses have been affixed. Pollyanna has arrived

lemme see, licking the tip of my pencil, lets try this AGAIN

Seriously I'd rather have a root canal than figure this list out. But it's supposed to help me FOCUS on great things to come. There's that word I was totally unable to do last year too.

Back to the assignment

10 great happenings

1. My faith
2. Simplicity
3. Designer Pottery Barn bedroom furniture (hey it was big for me since it was my first ever bedroom set that wasn't a hand me down or shabby chic cast off from someone else)
4. I had hot and cold running water
5. A roof over my head
6. I ate 3 square meals a day
7. I discovered a new papercrafting store
8. We all had our health
9. Great jobs
10. I live in paradise (hello)

I think its a lot that we take for granted and when you spell it out they are GREAT things.

Next part of the assignment..

List 5 lessons learned:

Stay tuned I am still working on my "year in review" grrr this stuff is so hard for me.

Then you move on to your intentions and alas those are also in the drafting stage.

I'm getting there

do it do it do it....