Stretch the body.
Stretch the mind.
Stretch the soul.
"Stretch" into 2014.
Showing posts with label year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label year. Show all posts
Monday, December 30, 2013
Friday, December 27, 2013
One WHOLE Year
Gosh, how time continues to fly. How are we at the end of 2013 already, when in some ways, it feels as if it has only just begun?
whole adj.
1. Containing all components; complete.As I entered 2013, I knew that the word whole would be one to guide me. Unlike my previous two OneWord365 reflections, however, this was not tied to any specific goal or task (e.g. I knew that "create" would apply to my photography, amongst other things); it was simply a way I wanted to practice being as I moved through the year.
2. Not divided or disjoined; in one unit.
3. Constituting the full amount, extent, or duration.
4. a. Not wounded, injured, or impaired; sound or unhurt.
b. Having been restored; healed.
adv. Informal Entirely; wholly
- Complete -- Recognizing that I am complete; I am enough; I am whole--simply because I was created that way.
- Not divided or disjoined -- In community, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts (members). Who are my communities? What is my part in creating the whole? What divides us? What draws us together?
- The full amount -- I give wholly of myself; I receive fully from others.
- Sound or unhurt -- Certain circumstances, situations, and relationships can fracture our heart. Sometimes these things are out of our control. Often, however, we can reframe how we see our circumstances, and we can choose to put ourselves into or out of unhealthy situations and relationships.
- Restored -- When we are fractured, weary, burnt out, broken, we can be restored to wholeness through prayer, forgiveness, and being gentle with ourselves while God heals the heart.
"Individuality is only possible
if it unfolds from wholeness."
-- David Bohm
I am whole.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
A Year to Create
How is it that another year is reaching its end, a new one ready to enter in? While each year feels like it passes so quickly, I know that there have been twelve months, just like every other year. Fifty-two weeks of work, play, smiles, tears, adventures and routines.
And opportunities to create.
Create was a word I chose to intentionally consider as I entered and moved through 2012. Not so coincidentally, I believe, opportunities opened up this year to flex my creative muscle in many ways.
In relationships...
I have taken on new roles at work that have me fostering collaborative relationships with educators and caregivers. I am part of a project to build capacity in child care centres to run more inclusive classrooms, and enhance the social and emotional development of the children in their care. New relationships have been created with staff at each of the centres I have become involved with. The project grant we are operating on is for three years. It is exciting to know that I will be growing along with the people at these sites as we create even better environments for young children.
In other areas, I had a chance to re-create relationship with family this past summer. I've also re-created some of the way I do relationship with my friends--old, new, near and far. And, I've created a new sort of relationship with my younger brother, as we live under the same roof again for the first time in fifteen years.
At home...
Oh, how I continue to love my home! Especially in the summer! I continued to work towards setting up and creating my back yard just the way I want it. Someone once told me it takes roughly 25 years for a person to landscape their yard space to perfection. I'm not entirely sure I will be in this house that long (though, it's not entirely out of realm of possibility), but I really hope it doesn't take me that long to create the perfect space. I'm aiming for somewhere in the next five years--that would be nice.
I set up the hammock this summer, creating a peaceful space to enjoy a book or a nap in the sunshine. I planted a couple new things in the garden this summer, offering a space for God to create His wonderful edibles. I also rustled up all my bulbs at the end of this season, creating a new floral landscape along the side of my house that I hope comes to fruition (florition?) next spring. Only time will tell.
I am looking forward to another summer in the hammock, in the garden, and in the dirt. It is really His creation, not mine; but I love that He lets me muck around a little. :)
Behind the lens...
Ohmygoodness, where do I even start? I have had such fun with my photography this year. I continued to create fun shots with my 365 project, and finished it up at the end of July. I have--s l o w l y--been working through a second project. It was meant to be a one-a-day kind of thing, but I quickly realized that the quick pace was kaiboshing the creative process, so I have slowed it down. It's not easy to create, some days.
In the spring, I took part in an international photography project, resulting in one of my photos being published in a book! Mine was one of 1,000 (out of 100,000 total) to be selected for the book. I felt very honoured to have been recognized this way.
I also managed to have one of my photos published in a local calendar, which was exciting.
Finally, I have been putting my toe into the artisan market a little bit. I had my art in the gallery at last year's art exhibit in Lacombe. Nothing sold, but it was neat to see my work amidst that of other artists... and to not seem like my work was out of place!
I took the canvas-printed photos to work shortly thereafter, and sold several to colleagues; that was a surprise! I also participated in an On-the-Spot pop-up craft sale, selling several photo greeting cards to passersby. I'm hoping to take in more of the pop-up scene in 2013. On the whole, my photography is in the hole, financially speaking. But sometimes just the richness of the experience is valuable, too. While I am hoping my photography will put me back in the black this coming year, I'm not out there to make a career out of this. I never have been. I enjoy taking photos purely for taking photos. When I have to start thinking about customer demands and quantities for larger markets, I fear the creativity will be lost. Photography will have become an obligation, not a passion. Being able to sell my works is really just a tangible affirmation of my skill. It is nice, but not necessary, to know that what I'm creating is beautiful.
So.
Much has been created.
Thank You, Creator, for making me in Your image, that I might create in this world, as well. May everything I create be for Your glory, in Your joy, and bring Your peace. Amen.
And opportunities to create.
Create was a word I chose to intentionally consider as I entered and moved through 2012. Not so coincidentally, I believe, opportunities opened up this year to flex my creative muscle in many ways.
In relationships...
I have taken on new roles at work that have me fostering collaborative relationships with educators and caregivers. I am part of a project to build capacity in child care centres to run more inclusive classrooms, and enhance the social and emotional development of the children in their care. New relationships have been created with staff at each of the centres I have become involved with. The project grant we are operating on is for three years. It is exciting to know that I will be growing along with the people at these sites as we create even better environments for young children.
In other areas, I had a chance to re-create relationship with family this past summer. I've also re-created some of the way I do relationship with my friends--old, new, near and far. And, I've created a new sort of relationship with my younger brother, as we live under the same roof again for the first time in fifteen years.
At home...
Oh, how I continue to love my home! Especially in the summer! I continued to work towards setting up and creating my back yard just the way I want it. Someone once told me it takes roughly 25 years for a person to landscape their yard space to perfection. I'm not entirely sure I will be in this house that long (though, it's not entirely out of realm of possibility), but I really hope it doesn't take me that long to create the perfect space. I'm aiming for somewhere in the next five years--that would be nice.
I set up the hammock this summer, creating a peaceful space to enjoy a book or a nap in the sunshine. I planted a couple new things in the garden this summer, offering a space for God to create His wonderful edibles. I also rustled up all my bulbs at the end of this season, creating a new floral landscape along the side of my house that I hope comes to fruition (florition?) next spring. Only time will tell.
I am looking forward to another summer in the hammock, in the garden, and in the dirt. It is really His creation, not mine; but I love that He lets me muck around a little. :)
Behind the lens...
Ohmygoodness, where do I even start? I have had such fun with my photography this year. I continued to create fun shots with my 365 project, and finished it up at the end of July. I have--s l o w l y--been working through a second project. It was meant to be a one-a-day kind of thing, but I quickly realized that the quick pace was kaiboshing the creative process, so I have slowed it down. It's not easy to create, some days.
In the spring, I took part in an international photography project, resulting in one of my photos being published in a book! Mine was one of 1,000 (out of 100,000 total) to be selected for the book. I felt very honoured to have been recognized this way.
I also managed to have one of my photos published in a local calendar, which was exciting.
Finally, I have been putting my toe into the artisan market a little bit. I had my art in the gallery at last year's art exhibit in Lacombe. Nothing sold, but it was neat to see my work amidst that of other artists... and to not seem like my work was out of place!
I took the canvas-printed photos to work shortly thereafter, and sold several to colleagues; that was a surprise! I also participated in an On-the-Spot pop-up craft sale, selling several photo greeting cards to passersby. I'm hoping to take in more of the pop-up scene in 2013. On the whole, my photography is in the hole, financially speaking. But sometimes just the richness of the experience is valuable, too. While I am hoping my photography will put me back in the black this coming year, I'm not out there to make a career out of this. I never have been. I enjoy taking photos purely for taking photos. When I have to start thinking about customer demands and quantities for larger markets, I fear the creativity will be lost. Photography will have become an obligation, not a passion. Being able to sell my works is really just a tangible affirmation of my skill. It is nice, but not necessary, to know that what I'm creating is beautiful.
So.
Much has been created.
Thank You, Creator, for making me in Your image, that I might create in this world, as well. May everything I create be for Your glory, in Your joy, and bring Your peace. Amen.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Reflections on Spontaneity* AND 153/365
Last year, I chose "spontaneity" as my word for 2011. So, as 2011 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on how it went. I wanted to be able to be more spontaneous, to go with the flow a bit more, to not reactively say "no" to requests and opportunities quite so often. In no means did I expect to completely turn around what is--in part--personality and temperament. But I wanted to ease up a little.
So how did I do?
...Well, I dunno...
I'm not entirely sure that I was really any more truly spontaneous than I generally am. I can think of a circumstance where I was completely spontaneous, and as I alluded to last year, it "surprise[d] the pants off people." I can also think of a circumstance--realistically, a much less ambitious circumstance--that was a spontaneity FAIL; it took everything I had just to pull it together enough to participate. And this is about the norm for me.
That being said, I DO think I was able to go with the flow a little bit more this year, if only because I spent more time thinking the opportunity through. I'm not sure it qualifies as spontaneous anymore when one thinks it through, but in my world, this is the most realistic step forward.
I mentioned last year that the factors of energy, cost, and time play a big role in determining whether or not I can just change gears in my day and go ahead into something new. Instead of immediately letting my brain try and convince me that I don't have any of those things available, I have forced it to stop and think. Is there still a chance for down time elsewhere? Or that doesn't have to cost as much as you think it does. Or, what has become a bit of a mantra for me this year, what else were you really going to be doing instead? (Cuz sometimes the answer is 'nothing')
I also think God blessed me with more opportunities to knock some of those factors of the list so I don't even need to think about them. I was spoiled with a two-week tropical vacation back in April at a significantly reduced personal cost. And when you're on vacation, really, what else were you going to be doing instead? The same is true of this summer. The respite I did this summer was in small bursts of full days rather than short shifts every day, meaning that I had entire stretches of nothing, nothing, nothing on the schedule. Once I embraced this change from what I had been expecting, I was able to enjoy doing whatever came up.
The cost factor is often still a tricky one to work around. I can glean down time or energy elsewhere sometimes. Not so easy with something as concrete as money. That being said, I have started utilizing sites like Groupon, DealFind, etc., which--every now and then--bring up deals on something I actually need or was intending to buy. I either save money, earn extra air miles, or get more service for the price I regularly pay. It hasn't opened up the budget a ton, but just enough.
One more thing I have been teaching myself to do is put the Type A away. If someone has said they will contact me by a certain time, wait. If my brain wants details for something two weeks ahead of time, but I don't actually need that specific detail two weeks ahead of time, wait. There does come a point when I will need information to proceed on something. But I don't necessarily need all the information up front. I think my brain is slowly getting the message.
So. A little bit forward overall?
And on to 2012.
*I would just like it to be known that I am an excellent speller--take pride in being an excellent speller, even--but s-p-o-n-t-a-n-e-i-t-y gets me every time!
So how did I do?
...Well, I dunno...
I'm not entirely sure that I was really any more truly spontaneous than I generally am. I can think of a circumstance where I was completely spontaneous, and as I alluded to last year, it "surprise[d] the pants off people." I can also think of a circumstance--realistically, a much less ambitious circumstance--that was a spontaneity FAIL; it took everything I had just to pull it together enough to participate. And this is about the norm for me.
That being said, I DO think I was able to go with the flow a little bit more this year, if only because I spent more time thinking the opportunity through. I'm not sure it qualifies as spontaneous anymore when one thinks it through, but in my world, this is the most realistic step forward.
I mentioned last year that the factors of energy, cost, and time play a big role in determining whether or not I can just change gears in my day and go ahead into something new. Instead of immediately letting my brain try and convince me that I don't have any of those things available, I have forced it to stop and think. Is there still a chance for down time elsewhere? Or that doesn't have to cost as much as you think it does. Or, what has become a bit of a mantra for me this year, what else were you really going to be doing instead? (Cuz sometimes the answer is 'nothing')
I also think God blessed me with more opportunities to knock some of those factors of the list so I don't even need to think about them. I was spoiled with a two-week tropical vacation back in April at a significantly reduced personal cost. And when you're on vacation, really, what else were you going to be doing instead? The same is true of this summer. The respite I did this summer was in small bursts of full days rather than short shifts every day, meaning that I had entire stretches of nothing, nothing, nothing on the schedule. Once I embraced this change from what I had been expecting, I was able to enjoy doing whatever came up.
The cost factor is often still a tricky one to work around. I can glean down time or energy elsewhere sometimes. Not so easy with something as concrete as money. That being said, I have started utilizing sites like Groupon, DealFind, etc., which--every now and then--bring up deals on something I actually need or was intending to buy. I either save money, earn extra air miles, or get more service for the price I regularly pay. It hasn't opened up the budget a ton, but just enough.
One more thing I have been teaching myself to do is put the Type A away. If someone has said they will contact me by a certain time, wait. If my brain wants details for something two weeks ahead of time, but I don't actually need that specific detail two weeks ahead of time, wait. There does come a point when I will need information to proceed on something. But I don't necessarily need all the information up front. I think my brain is slowly getting the message.
So. A little bit forward overall?
And on to 2012.
*I would just like it to be known that I am an excellent speller--take pride in being an excellent speller, even--but s-p-o-n-t-a-n-e-i-t-y gets me every time!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
House & Home OR 83/365
A year ago this weekend, I moved into my house. Of all the 'anniversaries' that could exist in one's world, it surprises me how much this one stands out for me. But it blows my mind a little bit that I have lived in this house for one year already (and yet, only for one year!).
The last year I have ridden several different learning curves, including the new experiences that come with owning a house. Several blog posts this year have focused on my home and garden. Clearly, an exciting and important topic for me. Even so, those reflect only a small percentage of the daily discoveries I encountered around my home this past year.
I love my house.
The last year I have ridden several different learning curves, including the new experiences that come with owning a house. Several blog posts this year have focused on my home and garden. Clearly, an exciting and important topic for me. Even so, those reflect only a small percentage of the daily discoveries I encountered around my home this past year.
I love my house.
- I love the way the sun streams through the kitchen window and right into my bedroom on summer and Saturday mornings.
- I love the warm colours of each room.
- I love that I can do a three-point turn in my driveway.
- I love the space in my garage.
- I love not having to plug the car in in the winter because I have garage.
- I love the copious amounts of sunlight the back yard receives.
- I love that I am situated on such a neighbourly street.
- I love how the bathroom is slightly warmer than the rest of the house when the furnace is on. This makes getting ready for work in the dark of autumn and winter that much more tolerable.
- I love the fruit-bearing plants I didn't know I had!
- I love that if I plug the vacuum into the outlet under the kitchen table, I can reach every room of the house without having to re-plug the cord in elsewhere!
- I love the feel of my living room (not sure if it would be considered feng-shui, but it's the nicest room in my house!).
- I love having a gas stove!
- I love having enough room for everything.
- I love that plants seem to enjoy it here, too (i.e. they grow).
- I love that it's mine.
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