This isn’t a review of the actual year 2020. I don’t have the guts or gumption for that. I’m just here to document how I did with the goals I set for myself. This time last year, I was in a bit of limbo, and that led me to cushion most of my goals in self-compassion. I’m glad I did. Here’s how I did. My Calling I spent the first part of the year working through a 12-week course to help me find my life’s purpose. What I learned is that I really enjoy trying to figure out my life’s Read More
Tag: Memoir
Untamed: Building a Coalition of Cheetahs
Back to my original question: What do I want to say about this book? I loved it. I was on the waitlist at the library, but when a friend starting sharing about it, I had to buy a hardcover version also. I have so many notes, highlights, bookmarks. There was only one thing in the book I disagreed with, and that is more an issue of semantics. The love-at-first-site narrative and “my sexuality is Abby” raises a few red flags for me, but I also kind of relate. I have referred to my own sexuality as “hetero-monogamous” because when I’m Read More
Finding My Calling, Parts 2 and 3
A few months ago I wrote a post covering the first four weeks of my journey through The Calling. I said it seems like a short amount of time to uncover my calling if I didn’t know it by now, but I also said I would have to do the work. That first four weeks, I did the work. After that, maybe not so much. Maybe it was putting my post out there and saying it that caused me to stall. Maybe it was the shift to working from home due to COVID-19. But here’s the thing… I might have Read More
First Quarter Review 2020
What the actual…? We are at the end of the first quarter of 2020. It’s time for an update on my dreams, plans, and goals for the year. As I prepped for 2020, I promised myself Freedom. Three months in, where am I? More or less confined to home, along with the rest of the WORLD. That’s right: coronavirus, COVID-19, social distancing, quarantine, work from home… it’s a whole new world. How does one work towards the goal of Freedom without leaving the house? Let’s contemplate that and see if I was able to accomplish anything in the start of Read More
Finding My Calling
I am working through a twelve week course that is a scientific approach to discovering my calling. Everyone is supposed to have a calling but they don’t all have to be about saving the world. Maybe doing your “true work” is your own way of saving the world, no matter what that work is. Your calling might be to help people learn about native plants or to create a safe space for children or to see how high you can jump. The old saying goes: “Choose a job you love and you’ll never had to work a day in your Read More
FREEDOM 2020
Why Pick a Word? Do you pick a word or phrase as a theme for the year? I don’t remember how long ago I started picking a theme word, but it might coincide with when I started using the Rituals for Living Dreambook and Planner. I love this planner so much. I really feel like it helps me stay focused on what is important and helps me make plans to achieve some things that might just fall under “that would be nice” or “someday” if I didn’t have a system for dreaming and planning. My theme word for 2019 was Read More
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
I love the holidays. I love seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins and being reminded how lucky I am to come from a big family. What I don’t love is coming down sick the day after Thanksgiving when my workload is insane and I really can’t take any time off. At least I don’t have to worry about spreading my disease when I’m the only one in the office. In an effort to ensure I am not spreading the plague, I went to see my doctor. In true doctor fashion, he asked me a lot of questions, but my favorite Read More
Third Quarter Review 2019
Well, y’all…. DANG. I complained that the first quarter was rough, then I said the second quarter kicked it up a notch. Now… How do I put this? The third quarter kicked my teeth in, then it poured a little gasoline over my head, lit a match, walked away until the flames died out, then came back with a wire-bristled brush and scrubbed at those burns until there was nothing left but blood and bones. How do you describe it when you have already had a rough year, your “summertime” depression refusing to pass, and one thing after another triggering Read More
My Must-Own Albums
When I recently upgraded my cell phone I lost a lot of music that I had imported from my CD collection and transferred from computer to phone for years. I also lost one of my favorite audiobooks that I listen to repeatedly. This has me pondering if I should pull out the old CDs or if I should just pay for these again in a digital format that can live in the cloud. Of course, when it comes to music, I am also a subscriber, so I find myself making more playlists and stations and not buying albums. Sometimes I Read More
Learning to Live
It’s back to school time here in beautiful Northwest Arkansas. This always seems like a good time for a fresh start. I think a new school year probably runs second only to New Year’s Day when it comes to people thinking about how they want to change their lives in the upcoming months. This is the first fall that neither of my kids are going to school. Kid #1 has graduated from college and #2 is taking a bit of a gap year. That doesn’t mean I didn’t peruse the Back to School aisles and get myself some new Staedtler Read More