Hello 2015

Christmas tree farm, Connecticut

Happy New Year! (Ok, so it is technically halfway through January already, but happy new year nonetheless!) I hope you had a lovely holiday season and that 2015 has treated you well so far.

This blogging thing is a little rusty for me, but it's something I'd like to re-commit to this year. It's on a list of things, in fact, that will help me refocus my life/career on making and living ART. It's not as if I haven't been doing that for the last ten years, but this year I'm taking on a new approach. A more active engagement in what my goals and dreams are rather than a passive "play it as it goes" approach (which admittedly is kind of how I've "rolled" for a while).

There are a couple of ground rules that I'm trying to live by right now that also apply to how I am working/plan on working this year. Work with what you've got, pay attention to your thoughts/feelings as well as what's working and what's not, and, if possible, eliminate any anxiety triggers that are unnecessary.

"Work with what you've got" unfolds in many ways. First of all, I'm trying to once and for all eliminate the mindset of waiting to have/feel/be/do ___ in order to have/feel/be/do ___. Fill in the blanks as you choose. That way of thinking has been prevalent my whole life and I'm finally realizing the truth that if you wait forever to have everything fit "just so" to be truly happy and content, you are missing your life as it is unfolding right now. Therefore, you are missing the opportunity to be happy right now. In the face of that, I'm trying to be more appreciative of the uniqueness of every moment unfolding as it will. I'm also trying to think/be more resourceful when it comes to every aspect of my life - from home repair to cooking to my business.

Paying attention to what I do, what I consume, and how it all feels is another way that I'm working on being happier and more productive. If there's something unnecessary that I do in my day to day that gives me stress or anxiety and there's a way to simply not do it/consume it/etc anymore? Well, then, what are you waiting for!?

Speaking of, there is one more mantra that's been really weighing on me... at first in a nagging, unsettling way, and now in a more positive, encouraging way, and that is, (to repeat)... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? When, exactly, is an appropriate time to ask yourself the very important question, "What do I want?"? What year does "someday" fall in? If not now, then when? How wonderful it feels to embrace something right in the moment and deal with it right then. I'm learning this in such simple, small ways so far, but the idea of its reach is quite exciting... and still very new.

Now that I've expressed all of that, who really knows how this year will actually unfold? I know that I could make the grandest plans and life could take a sharp turn at any point, laughing at all of my foolish "preparation". At the same time, I also don't want to be the loose little seed floating in the wind, carried away without any will or say of my own. Finding a balance, as always, is key.

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