Thursday, January 1, 2015

setting a goal.


I purposely avoided writing at the one year mark. Anniversaries and milestones have come and gone; the day I left DC, the day I left for Thailand. The days since coming home have piled up on the calendar with so little to show for them. Or so it feels. Before leaving Thailand I sat down and made a list of goals to accomplish once I got home. I was going to find a fabulous job, sort through the chaos of boxes that have been sitting in storage for over 7 years combined with the ones I brought back with me across the country, move back into my condo and re-establish some semblance of an adult life. There were classes I wanted to take and places I wanted to explore. (Now that I’ve seen all 7 continents it’s time to start checking off the 50 states.) Yet here it is nine months later and I’m still jobless hanging with the parents surrounded by teetering piles of boxes. Very few of my goals have come to fruition and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. 

But I’m slowly beginning to see patterns and purpose in the moments of chaos. The year has had its share of ups and downs, twists and turns. I’ve been hyper-focused on what I’ve perceived as the various lacks and gaps while over-looking all the amazing things that have happened. I lived for a while in one country, visited several others. I’ve forged new friendships, strengthened relationships and spent valuable time with family members. I’ve learned a lot about myself, stretching and growing in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. I’ve read some great books, seen some amazing sights, tasted some fabulous food, heard and discovered some marvelous music. I learned how to play a harmonica! There have been countless un-asked for blessings and mini-miracles, insights and adventures, even unexpected love and romance. And with a new calendar year comes another chance to make a new start, to set new goals and re-affirm my commitment to previous goals.

My main goal is still, to find a job and gain some much-needed independence. But I’ve got a slew of others to work on, some that I’ve already been hashing out for a while (the previously mentioned diet and fitness goals, re-focusing on my writing, traveling and taking a few classes), as well as a few new ones (starting a daily gratitude journal and daily meditation practice, learning to bake bread and an edible pie crust, studying Jesus the Christ and memorizing The Living Christ.)

I’m also going to shift my focus here a little. I’m going to continue blogging but not as often or as consistently as I once did (don’t judge by my recent non-activity) but rather just a few posts a month and I’m going to keep it a bit more personal. But then I’m going to branch out and start a second blog in the next little while, but with the goal of actually making a little money off of it (fingers-crossed.) It could be a flop but I’ve been mulling it over for some time and have decided I need to just make the jump. I’ll keep you all posted.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear what goals and resolutions you’ve made for the new year. What were your highlights of 2014? What lessons did you learn that have shaped how you’ll be facing the challenges and adventures that might come?