December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?
(Author: Alice Bradley)
This seems like it should be about my Grandpa who passed away pretty unexpectedly this year, but the truth is, I haven't let him go. I'm not there yet.
I let go of a part of myself this year in a lot of ways. I let go of some of my confidence in my ability to do the work I do. I let go of this idea that I was a good person because I paid my bills on time (because let's face it, I can't anymore... yes, I wish I had planned better, but no, I never thought life would kick me down quite the way it did this year either, so I'm not sure how much planning would've helped). At the beginning of the year, I let go of a LOT of me, the "old" me, the me that had friends and was relatively successful and/or content in life, but more recently, I've let go of that nasty, downward thinking self and I'm working on letting pieces of that "old" me back in. Full circle, or semi circle, for now, I guess?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
December 4 – Wonder.
December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
(Author: Jeffrey Davis)
I don't know if this is the best example, but working with my adopted dog, Kennedy cultivated a sense of wonder in me. She was my second foster dog, surrendered from a terrible puppy mill in another state where she had been forced to breed every possible time she could for the first five years of her life. I had never worked with a dog like this, in my home, on my own. The challenges I faced and the outcomes have blown my mind. The fact that I could do this, the fact that I could make a difference, the fact that Kennedy is now my best friend in life. I guess that's all the wonder I can think of in this past year. I took on a challenge pretty far out of the range of things I'm confident in doing and I succeeded. Not only with Kennedy, but with the 19 other foster dogs I cared for while I fostered.
(Author: Jeffrey Davis)
I don't know if this is the best example, but working with my adopted dog, Kennedy cultivated a sense of wonder in me. She was my second foster dog, surrendered from a terrible puppy mill in another state where she had been forced to breed every possible time she could for the first five years of her life. I had never worked with a dog like this, in my home, on my own. The challenges I faced and the outcomes have blown my mind. The fact that I could do this, the fact that I could make a difference, the fact that Kennedy is now my best friend in life. I guess that's all the wonder I can think of in this past year. I took on a challenge pretty far out of the range of things I'm confident in doing and I succeeded. Not only with Kennedy, but with the 19 other foster dogs I cared for while I fostered.
December 3 – Moment.
December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).
(Author: Ali Edwards)
I may be breaking the rules on this, but I have to come back to this one. My initial thought is that there were so few moments this year that I felt alive, I can't really remember them. For me, I can think of SOO many days, so many moments where I felt so dead inside that I'll have to pick my brain to do this entry justice.
(Author: Ali Edwards)
I may be breaking the rules on this, but I have to come back to this one. My initial thought is that there were so few moments this year that I felt alive, I can't really remember them. For me, I can think of SOO many days, so many moments where I felt so dead inside that I'll have to pick my brain to do this entry justice.
December 2 – Writing.
December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)
I think too much. If I could write it down and slow my brain down and eliminate some of the clutter in my brain by storing it on paper or in here, I'd have more written down and my brain would work with me rather than against me. I could organize my thoughts and have some plans and dreams in order so I could go forward and start accomplishing them.
(Author: Leo Babauta)
I think too much. If I could write it down and slow my brain down and eliminate some of the clutter in my brain by storing it on paper or in here, I'd have more written down and my brain would work with me rather than against me. I could organize my thoughts and have some plans and dreams in order so I could go forward and start accomplishing them.
December 1 – One Word.
December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)
AMBIVALENT
I started with the word Hell. Then change. But really, I wanted to use both (Hellish changes). Had I written this post in March, it would have been Hell. Or Change (or bad changes), but since mid October I've been making it a personal mission to really try to keep a positive outlook on life, but even with that, I'm an absolutely indecisive person in general, so I thought about ambivalence, a word I love. I googled it and found some alternates that may help explain this more than just my basic indecisiveness. I read inconclusive. I would have used that, but I feel like ambivalent speaks more to some of the negativity, the loss and pain I've suffered this year but also offers an inconclusive view on if I'm going to let the bad stuff define me or if I'm going to use it to move forward. I'm hopeful that I will look back at most of the bad this year has offered as a life lesson and that I'll move forward with that knowledge and a different outlook to see real change in the next year.
As far as one word for 2011? I'm torn. I'd love to say Innovation or Pride or even just plain happy, but I'm not sure on any of those. I guess I'll be optimistic and just hope that in 2011 CONFIDENT will be my word. Confident that I've done what I could, confident in what I'll be doing then and confident in who I am as a person.
(Author: Gwen Bell)
AMBIVALENT
I started with the word Hell. Then change. But really, I wanted to use both (Hellish changes). Had I written this post in March, it would have been Hell. Or Change (or bad changes), but since mid October I've been making it a personal mission to really try to keep a positive outlook on life, but even with that, I'm an absolutely indecisive person in general, so I thought about ambivalence, a word I love. I googled it and found some alternates that may help explain this more than just my basic indecisiveness. I read inconclusive. I would have used that, but I feel like ambivalent speaks more to some of the negativity, the loss and pain I've suffered this year but also offers an inconclusive view on if I'm going to let the bad stuff define me or if I'm going to use it to move forward. I'm hopeful that I will look back at most of the bad this year has offered as a life lesson and that I'll move forward with that knowledge and a different outlook to see real change in the next year.
As far as one word for 2011? I'm torn. I'd love to say Innovation or Pride or even just plain happy, but I'm not sure on any of those. I guess I'll be optimistic and just hope that in 2011 CONFIDENT will be my word. Confident that I've done what I could, confident in what I'll be doing then and confident in who I am as a person.
#Reverb10
So I've been missing writing lately and saw a few people doing Reverb 10. I haven't even read all the rules, so if I'm breaking them, I'm sorry. I just figured I'd play catch up right now and then read into it all some more tomorrow. Tonight, I need to write and I could write a thousand novels, so I'm using Reverb to give me some direction.
So here goes nothing.
So here goes nothing.
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