Still Celebrating the Newness of the New Year...

...it is after all less than a week into the New Year. As I am still drafting (it's ok I don't have to have them done, I'm working on it) my New Year intentions, promises whatever you will call them. I've dusted off my "Simple Abundance" books in an effort to find additional inspiration. They are classics and I just get inspired every time I read them. If you've never read them you should really pick them up. I have them all (Simple Abundance Daybook of Comfort and Joy & the Companion, Simple Abundance Journal (blank book), Illustrated Discovery Journal (A cross between a personal vision board and scrapbook, great, still using mine it's a work in process), Something More, Moving On your House of Belonging, and Romancing the Ordinary. I also decided to wander on over the the website (hence where I found the freebie). Sarah Ban Breathnach is such a great author she also shared a free vintage image with us. I found this over at the "Simple Abundance" website.

...And January is the perfect companion and co-conspirator for our reflections and renewed commitment to personal contentment and self-nurturance...

--Sarah Ban Breathnach.

What a perfect way to put it... January is a perfect companion and co-conspirator to renew our commitments to ourselves.

I had to laugh because the six principles of "Simple Abundance" are Gratitude, Simplicity, Order, Harmony, Beauty and Joy. Simplicity is second and comes after Gratitude. Looks like I went out of order. hehe. Anyway, here is a portion of what Sarah Ban Breathnach says about Simplicity my One Word for the last several years:

Yes, you already have everything you need… It’s time to simplify. On the Simple Abundance path, simplicity does not mean making do with less, but appreciating the important things more. Embracing choice as a spiritual gift (wow love that line). Making deliberate decisions that will inspire, comfort, soothe and serve you, whether it’s weeding out curios (renting an 18 foot dumpster), paring down commitments or creating a front hall to enthrall every time you cross the threshold. Simplicity requires not only honesty and courage but gentleness and more patience than you ever believed you possess...

--Sarah Ban Breathnach

Considering simplifying has been my "One Word" for the past few years no truer words can be spoken re: the patience part. I am glad that I am now enjoying a more simpler life and home. I'm not 100% there yet but close enough to move on to a new "One Word" for the year which leads me to "Gratitude". Here are some excerpts from the same website...

Well, when was the last time you counted your blessings? Now let’s live it. Together. Find something new to be thankful for today. Many of Life’s most sublime moments sneak up on us and then just as quickly vanish. The smaller the moment noticed, appreciated and savored, the deeper its connection to your sense of peace and plenty… A bottle of milk when you need it most, pie for breakfast, a fortune cookie with just the right message, a compliment from a stranger, not caring (or keeping track!) of who says ‘sorry’ first, and the sound of your own laughter are potent reminders of the bounty of every day’s overlooked bounty.

--Sarah Ban Breathnach

Here's wishing we all have more happiness than cares this year...

--M!ssPr!ssy