Beginning.......again

I don't really make resolutions each year, but I am thoughtful about beginning a new year and all that it might bring.


In the spirit of "begin as you mean to go on" I did ride my bike on New Year's Day - only 5 miles, but a ride nevertheless.  It started out nicely, considering the cold, but then I turned into the wind and started to rethink the whole thing.  One of the things that changed about me after the tour is that I now only ride a bike for FUN.  And snotsicles just aren't all that much in the way of fun.  So.  Five miles will have to do until it gets a bit warmer, and the way it's been the past few days, that may take a while.

I've also done a bit of the other kind of spinning and will soon be able to ply some new yarn to play with.  My favorite thing to spin is silk but that is hard to do with winter-dry hands so I'm sticking to wool until the humidity goes up a bit.  Like the temperature, that might take a while.  Kim the Magnificent has helped me start getting my fiber studio in order so I can spend some quiet times up there exploring my creativity.

Another big revelation from the tour is that I really like feeling slimmer and stronger, so that will be another focus - getting more exercise and paying more attention to what I put in my mouth.  Still very much a work in progress.

In support of all of the above, I am trying to be more mindful of what I do and how I think and whether or not it is serving my better self.  I want to put more time and effort into the things that I value most, which means I need to be more mindful of what I am doing or not doing to further that.

To make my environment more relaxing and supportive, I need to pay attention to clutter and mess and realize what that takes away from my enjoyment of my home.  To make my brain more agile and active, I need to pay more attention to the activities that occupy time without providing any payoff. To maintain nourishing relationships, I need to make sure I am doing the things that let them thrive - to be more generous with my time and attention.

And finally to make sure I can live the life I want to as I age, I need to devote more care to nourishing and maintaining my body and my mind - I can no longer afford the careless attitudes of youth that say "one more cookie" or "one more drink" or "let's just forget the dental appointment" or "my blood pressure isn't that high" don't matter and don't have consequences.

In youth we are blissfully unaware of just how few chances we get to do it right.  There always seems to be time to take corrective action.  As we age, we realize that the time has come, regrets don't change the present and all that we have is the 'right now' to manage as best we can.

 So here's a toast to making the moments matter.