Getting Ready… Happy 2023!

I know, I’m a smidge early… My brain is either early or late, and rarely on time. So I’m going to indulge myself. Trust me, the remaining 5 weeks of 2022 are going to fly. In my mind they are already spent! This is the season when I not only contemplate all the wondrous blessings I have experienced, but also the time when I evaluate all the opportunities for growth I need to embrace in the coming year. I began working on one of my new year’s goals weeks ago. Not great at it yet, but semi consistent. That’s the key, or so I hear.

I have spent the last quarter of 2022 forced to be selfish about my health and energy. It was a necessary process to continue on my personal journey back to health and vitality. Still, that kind of idleness is difficult for me mentally and emotionally. So, while physically sedentary, I permitted myself to let loose, bearing down hard into some much needed work on this website and various projects. It doesn’t show, because it is mostly “back-end” stuff. The kind of stuff that wiser people tend to outsource. But, also, it was time for me to truly give this website a fair chance to reach its potential. This is crazy, but my hard work seemed to pay off, and now I love everything I have achieved here thus far. I see a joyful, clear direction for it, which I have not seen in a long time. I hope that you will also get to see how special it becomes this coming year.

While this website began as a boring, inconsequential journaling page about 10 years ago, it moved and evolved into a real journey when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a couple years later. Now, I’m 8 years into my recovery. I’m still not back to my pre-illness weight or vitality, and I have experienced far too many trials to count, but the blessings have been stacked on almost just as much. The learning curve has been tremendous, and I want to share as much knowledge as I have the energy to muster! It’s time other people start to benefit from my acquired talents.

For all of my hardships, I am a far gentler human than I was. I have humility which I didn’t know I previously lacked. These life experiences have given me the power to make a true impact in the world and, hopefully, bless the lives of others I meet along the way.

Here is the raw truth of it all. For all of my hardships, I am a far gentler human than I was. I have humility which I didn’t know I previously lacked. These life experiences have given me the power to make a true impact in the world and, hopefully, bless the lives of others I meet along the way. I have life experience I would have never gained any other way. I have my beautiful family, with my high-spirited, hard working husband… He is my rock and constant source of laughter, as are my children. My support system is still present, and stronger than ever. Some truly wonderful connections of friendship and love have been fostered. Some surprisingly inauthentic friendships have been severed. For all of it, I am so thankful!

With all my apparent blessings, my mind draws to the future. I have so many hopes, plans, wishes, wants, and needs. Some so basic and fundamental that they drive me mad from fixation. I hope that I can get them all ticked off in a healthily prioritized fashion, and as soon as possible. If I continue on the path I am on, maybe I’ll attain some of my goals this year. I struggle to see my path clearly most days. I’m pretty open about my struggle with ADHD and anxiety. I’m not fighting or hiding it, rather, I am trying to allow these traits to play to my advantage.

Even in my posts you can see between different writings whether I have had the ability to truly tunnel my focus into something wonderful, or I have considered myself lucky to just get the bare bones content onto the page. That will likely continue to be a trend here and there. To be honest, I’m fine with it. I like my “true to life” style. I don’t believe there is only one correct way to blog about our passions. After all, if you ever feel like you’re losing your authenticity in your work, you need to take a step back and reevaluate your voice and mission.

I hope this new year gives you courage. The world needs you and everything you can offer. There will most definitely be days that emotions will be heavy and output low, but I urge you to embrace the darkness just as much as you should embrace the light. Remember, you can’t have one without the other. So, be sincere and authentic. Forgive yourself for being human, and embrace it! Be courageous. Be the real you. You are unique and the world needs your song.

CHEERS to 2023!