2011: eat. pray. love.

Soooo each year...it's kinda become an expectation for me to choose a theme for the year...a mantra of sorts. I guess in a way it's the same as making a list of resolutions...but I mainly see it as a mental mind-set for the year. Recent years have been associated with personal slogans such as:

Great in '08 - to be a better friend, daughter, sister, etc...to set realistic goals for myself...to challenge myself in new ways, etc

Redefine in '09 - to not be confined to previous expectations

2010, Live Your Life - to live my life without getting bogged down in ridiculous things or becoming worried about everything to come

Most years it's been fairly easy for me to come up with a theme...because I've had a good idea of what I wanted out of the upcoming year based on the year prior. However, this time around it was a little difficult to come up with what I wanted this year's focus to be....I think I was a little jumbled, because I felt drawn to several concepts that seemed unrelated.  It even became a running joke New Year's Eve night among my friends. Since last year's theme was based on a song...they kept suggesting mantras such as "Party Like a Rockstar," "Bottoms Up" and "All I Do is Win."  The funny thing is that I seriously almost chose "Dog Days are Over" as my theme...mainly for these lyrics:

Run fast for your mother,  run fast for your father

Run for your children,  all your sisters and brothers

Leave all your love and your longing behind.  

You can't carry it with you if you want to survive

 

I don't know the actual intent...but I interpret the lyrics to mean seek out those who genuinely care for you, give all the love you have because it doesn't do any good to withhold it and stop focusing on things that you can't change.

That being said...I decided to go a different, semi-related route and select 'eat, pray, love.'

Now let me just say that I honestly don't like the inherent association with the movie or book...because I don't personally advocate the message of either. Nothing about my 2011 mantra is about running away from problems or leaving friends/loved ones behind to escape the reality of my circumstances just to focus all my efforts on myself. I do, however, like the actual words. They're simple and straightforward in their message, yet incredibly powerful.  My resolve is about embracing a full life that is healthy on multiple levels....deepening my faith and further developing my knowledge of Christ....loving my family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers in a way that exhibits the love of my Savior.

Eat. Pray. Love.
2011, let the journey continue.... :)

2010: Live Your Life

It's been a long time since I've blogged, and there's not really a single reason why I stopped. I just haven't had anything worth saying...in a while. That being said...I do have some thoughts on the New Year (even if I'm a little late on the resolution/fresh-start train)...

As the title suggests, my motto for 2010 is "live your life" (and yes, it is inspired by the T.I./Rhianna song because that's how I roll). May seem pretty simple...but I think it's a fitting start to this new decade.

If there's anything that I learned from my "redefine in 09" year is that life throws us unexpected curve balls. So many things about this past year made me realize how short a lifetime can be, and in turn it made me appreciate the significance and impact of simple, thoughtful gestures. The growing sense of mortality also caused me to acknowledge how many days I've wasted...and when I say wasted I don't mean "I took an evening to rest" or "I spent a Saturday enjoying a novel or movie"....it's more of the "I went to dinner tonight because I felt an unspoken obligation to be there" or "I spent money on a concert that I really had no interest in just to be semi-social" type deal. It's the epiphany that I shouldn't continually do things that leave me frustrated, stretched for cash, etc when I could easily take that time to invest in my health, rejuvenation, home maintenance, etc.

These past 12 months were a continuance in learning what I truly enjoy, what my limitations are, what I value, what annoys me, what my personal goals are, etc. I've noticed that with each year, I feel a little more self-aware and comfortable in my own skin. I don't feel the same pressures to be something that I'm not or meet the expectations of outside influences. I've also gotten a lot better about saying "no"...and the even bigger step forward is that I don't have the self-imposed guilt that used to come whenever I turned down an offer/request/etc. In general, I just feel a lot calmer and more peaceful than I have in a long time...I think I can attribute that to finally (truly) accepting that there's sooo much that is out of my control.

2010 has started off with a bang...presenting a fresh set of challenges and glimmers of new opportunities. Only God knows what this year has in store...and that's okay with me. So my two cents (because that's exactly what my opinion is worth) is that for 2010, keep it simple and just live your life. :)

So live your life
You steady chasin' that paper
Just live your life
Ain't got no time for no haters
Just live your life
No tellin' where it'll take ya

Just live your life