A Package Deal.....

So I forgot to write in November and just barely realized it, so to finish the year of monthly blogs, you're getting a double dose....

I got kinda of quiet to close this year out.  It wasn't a depression, it was more of a massive inward reflection time and I do not regret it at all.  I cut back on things, but did not completely disappear.  I hung out with AMAZING people and had fun, but I said no to the chaos.  It was WONDERFUL!

I'm going to confess something, I am so over the commercialism of the Holliday season.  The ads that start WAY too early, the store displays in OCTOBER, the BUY, BUY, BUY for one day.  I struggled with finding my Christmas spirit when I was so annoyed with that aspect of the holiday season.  It's something I need to work on...

I did my Christmas agreements again this year and that was nice and kept some traditions that I love and enjoy doing.  I spent a lovely Thanksgiving with extended family and yes, stayed out of stores all weekend long.  I connected, not shopped.....

I think that is what this past year has been about for me, connections....  How to maintain, how to re-establish, how to just connect in a world that seems to be about the go, go, go..  Letting go of what people think and just doing what feels right.  I know that for the most part I don't go with the flow much anymore, I'm finding my own current and my wish for you is that you find your own.......

Feeling reflective,
Melissa

10 for 2019

I think I use this every year, but I love it, so here it is again

Hello,

It's once again Resolution time here..........

and once again, when I finished there were ten.  At this point, I think it will be that way every year.  :)

2019 Resolutions....

(in no particular order)

1.  15 Minutes a day Lettering

In 2018, I learned how to, now I need to practice, practice, practice...and find my own style.  The only way to do this is consistency...hence the 15 minutes a day

2.  15 minutes a day Yoga

'If you practice yoga once a week you will change your mind.

If you practice twice a week, you will change your body.

If you practice every day, you will change your life."

This quote was the catalyst, and I'm curious to see this unfold.  Some days my practice will not be an Asana practice, but one of the other limbs of yoga.  I will let my heart and body guide me....  This is not about perfecting a pose, but something so much deeper....

3.  Finish the "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust (it's a novel in seven volumes with a total page count of 4.215 pages....I read the first one and LOVED it) and the 51-100 Best Novel list I have been working on for the past few years (I have 6 left)

4.  Gratitude Journal...  

I have kept one for years where every day write down 5 things that happened that I am grateful for, but for the last year and a half to two years, I have been MASSIVELY inconsistent.  I want that to change.

5.  Bucket List items...

This should be no surprise.  The surprise of this are the ones I complete, it's never the ones I thought it would be

6.  Continue with practices set up in 2018. (water goals, novel, meditation, etc)

This has everything to do with the progress I made in 2018 and want to keep going....

7.  Put myself out there more.

I've recently come to realize that I've lost a little of my bravery and for lack of a better phrase, my right to be seen...  I've been hiding to a certain extent and it's all on me, so it's on me to change that.

8.  Let go of the things I no longer need (physically, emotionally or mentally)

Clean it out, let it go, so I can live the life I want.

9.  Travel somewhere I've never been before.

Travel is essential to me.

10.  Practice better self care and love.

A lot of the other resolutions build into this but the adage of putting your own oxygen mask on first is vital to a well lived life....

Oh, if you are interested in how 2018 turned out, I've updated my 2018 Resolution Blog..

Here's to a fantastic 2019 for all of us...

Melissa