This is what 2013 taught me:
Fall in love fiercely and sweetly. Over and over. With as many things and people as possible.
Be joyful for no reason. Find divinity in the stupidest places, like the bottom of your whiskey sour. Gratitude makes everything easier. You are infinitely blessed with abundance you cannot comprehend.
The year left me in a place of raw, base connection with what I crave:
I want to sleep. I mean, I want to practice headstand at 6am. I want to eat candy for breakfast. I want kale and beets. I want to be alone–now I want to be with people. I want to practice yoga, now I’ll do shots ’til 5AM. I want to cry because the snow is so beautiful…but I’m packing my bags and moving to a tropical paradise for a bit.
Crazy, right? Imagine indulging in the strange whirlwind of desires on all sorts of levels. It’s a wonderful and terrifying place to be–a place of true introspection of what I want and why. A chance to be wildly curious and playful and completely weird. I don’t know where it’s leading me, but I feel powerful and free.
This time of year, there are tons of articles on how to set goals, not resolutions, for the new year. The name of my game is Habits, the ones I want to begin and the ones I want to continue. Here’s what I have planned for 2014:
Write Daily. Read Daily.
I’ve been dipping my toes back into fiction–reading and writing. I remember a time a few years ago when I refused to read non-fiction. Lately, it’s all I’ve been devouring, and my writing has been primarily the same. Slowly, I’m shifting back into fiction-reading, and my writing has followed suite. It comes in awkward spurts–scraps of dialogue, a character sketch, a monstrous transformation inspired by Mr. C. Barker–but it comes, and it’s good to connect with that part of myself again.
Find Stillness
This is something recommitting to: daily meditation practice. When I come home from work ’round midnight or later, sometimes the only way I can get to sleep is a hot shower with Lush Twilight (a discontinued scent that I paid way too much for on Ebay, and ONLY use for pre-bed showering), settle in on my meditation poof, and sit for 15 minutes. Then maybe I’ll pull a Goddess card or two, but always quietly slip into bed in the dark before my mind has a chance to get up and going again.
That little 15 minute chunk of time is invaluable. It used to be daunting and a huge pain in the ass. Now it’s comforting and empowering, and only sometimes a pain in the ass.
Get Free
This means traveling. My passport expired this month, and I counted 6 countries’ customs stamps. That number will double by the time my next one expires. Come the end of March, I have a lovely extended romp through Central America planned…again. The Caribbean has stolen a piece of me I need to get back.
Beauty is All Around
What if you were only surrounded by people that inspired you and beautiful things that made you smile? How could you be unhappy? It’s about becoming cognizant of the kinds of people and things that nourish you, and shrugging off those that don’t. Get naked and snuggle with someone who digs you. Have tea with people you admire. Get homey and creating a space that fosters your creativity. Keep more plants around your apartment. And by “you,” I mean “me.”
Create Connection
I’ve been good at this lately and want to continue it. Like I mentioned before, connecting with what I need has been the theme for the past few weeks. But also creating connections with people who I want to be around, who I admire for whatever reason, who I can give to and receive from. A creative exchange that allows us both to thrive, even if it’s just for a moment.
So, those are my habits I’m incorporating into 2014. Good stuff, right? What are you un-resolutions for the year?
Oh. Um. I totally listened to Coldplay while writing this. Lol.
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My un-resolution started before the turn of the year… re-connecting with my yoga practice (specifically first thing when I wake). I’ve taken nearly a year off, with intermittent classes here and there.
I’ve never had a consistent home practice, and classes here in Londontown are so very expensive. What is it Gabriel says? It’s only when non-changing becomes too painful that we enact change.
So far I’m a week and two days in. My lats and traps are screaming from chaturanga, and I still have to talk myself into it and away from a snuggly boy and cat, but I’m doing it. I feel stronger and lighter in so many ways already.
Had I stayed, I would have liked to have helped you with your last one, but sometimes life blows us on a different course. And sometimes we come back eventually 🙂
Side note: we have two plants. One very happy schefflera, and a dubious, uncertain jade that I’m coaxing back to health.
Anywhoo. Hope you’re well.
x
Kristel
Kristel! Taking the first step to reigniting your practice is a huge one–congrats! Sometimes knowing you can come back to something after a long while proves that it’s in your blood and bones–you can take that break and know that you’ll come back to it over and over, despite business, kittens, and snuggly boys. Keep it up, girl…practice and all will come, right?
so much love + light to you, mamacita.