“The rose shadows said that they loved the sun, but that they also loved the dark, where their roots grew through the lightless mystery of the earth.” – Robin McKinley
Happy New Year everyone! I absolutely love this time of year. While January 1 is just another day, it can be very symbolic if you choose it to be so. To me, it always feels like a chance for a fresh start, a time to really reflect on what I want and how I’m going to achieve it.
This year, I’ve decided to set an intention for each month – something to meditate on in my yoga practice as well as my daily life. To kick the year off, my intention is balance: to stay grounded in the moment while remaining open to new opportunities. I recently wrote a post for one of my favourite blog sites, Tiny Buddha, on this topic. Check it out at:
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/active-contentment-5-tips-to-have-both-peace-and-ambition/
Another one of my major goals this year is to write more – every day in fact – a blog post, a piece of fiction, a poem, a journal entry, or even just a random scattering of thoughts. While I love my job as an editor, I need to keep fuelling my own creative energy through writing, and I neglected to do so too often last year.
I’m very much looking forward to another year of blogging and connecting with all of you. I would love to hear some of your intentions for the year. To end this post, I want to share the first musing from my new notebook.
January 1, 2013
A thrill, to see the three in the crisp corner of the clean page, clean canvas
Blank slate.
Free your mind.
Mourn no more.
Mindfulness in bliss
full ecstasy of the soul.
Old demons reside, resting, not forgotten,
but don’t have to be.
Fresh start, open heart. Resolve.
To focus on that which frees, which inspires, that exists.
Be. In balance. In all.
***
Song of the Week: “Inhaler” – Foals
Namaste 🙂
Rachel
New Year’s Day in Banff
Freelancing to Freedom 
Lovely! Happy New Year, Rach! I look forward to reading more of your writing in 2013. More writing for me in 2013, too, as well as more publishing (both my own writing an other authors), so I hope you’re rolling up your editing sleeves, because you will be kept busy!
By: islandeditions on January 7, 2013
at 2:22 pm
Thanks Sue! Can’t wait to read more of your work this year 🙂
By: faultlessfinish on January 8, 2013
at 3:01 pm
SLAY the Demons!! 🙂 You also plan on us hearing more of your writing, too, right? 😉
By: Ivan on January 7, 2013
at 2:26 pm
Definitely!
By: faultlessfinish on January 8, 2013
at 3:01 pm
You are aware of your own balance when you can share it so eloquently. 🙂
By: bawbsravenfeathers on January 7, 2013
at 2:40 pm
Thanks BawB 🙂
By: faultlessfinish on January 8, 2013
at 3:02 pm
Love this, Rachel! Keep writing more (selfishly, so I can read it) 🙂
By: Carrie Mumford on January 7, 2013
at 4:20 pm
Thanks Carrie! 🙂
By: faultlessfinish on January 8, 2013
at 3:02 pm
Rachel,
I do have a great regard for you, as you know. These are my thoughts on your post, correct or not:
I have been struggling with writing for a number of years. I often start a new year hoping, in fact, wishing, that I will sit down and write every day. I have journals to prove it. I am nowhere further along than I was when I was twelve. Actually, I probably journaled more when I was twelve than I do now (I had hormonal issues).
I think the most important thing is to find inspiration; to cultivate one’s dreams. I read your list of tips for peace and ambition, but I think that you left out on one’s focus on one’s personal search. Now, I accept that the “search” is part of it all, but I think that it is a more overbearing concept than you have given weight to. Moreover, if we are all doing number five, we cannot achieve one through four. There are certainly things that we must do.
I am no scholar, but I tend to pontificate, and I am apprehensive about the notion of active contentment. Activity, in this respect, implies a drive that supersedes one’s contentment with one’s situation. Contentment, as a juxtaposition, inherits the sentiment of inactivity. Fine, being at peace while striving for more is great, but I can’t be sure that both can coexist. Perhaps this is the balance.
Finding time to appreciate the situation that one finds oneself in and the time to feel anxious about the situation that one would rather be in is active contentment. In this case, one is active and content in one or the other situations, albeit a terrible dichotomy. I simply think that both cannot coexist.
As an end, I am glad that you have a new notebook. I remember the last time that I opened my new notebook, despite it having been three years ago. It’s the sound of the crack of the spine that drives every writer to turn the page. Please, for all of us, continue to write.
Best,
Aly
By: alygulamhusein on January 8, 2013
at 5:37 am
Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and comment, Aly! I always appreciate your pontifications.
I agree that inspiration is essential – nothing is more important than seeking out meaning in your life. We can not do number five if we are doing one through four, certainly, but it’s a matter of finding balance. Personally, I find that sometimes I just need to tell myself that I don’t have to do anything and that it’s fine to just sit and be. After a period of stillness, I then feel energized to start seeking again. I didn’t mean to suggest with the list that you should be doing all five things at once.
Activity and contentment are indeed opposite ideals, but the term “active contentment” really makes sense to me. Perhaps it’s all in the definition. It’s a matter of accepting what is, right now, because the now is all that exists, while being open to new ideas and goals.
The moment the term came to my mind, I felt a sense of peace and I wanted to share it. You’ve given me some food for thought though – I may need to explain the concept differently.
All the best with your writing this year! Thanks for your encouragement.
Rachel
By: faultlessfinish on January 8, 2013
at 3:17 pm
Great way to start the new year. This last year I felt like I was in a rush. Regardless of my schedule, I felt pressure to work too much. This year–although I don’t make resolutions–I would love to find peace with living in the present. I hope that you are able to spend more time writing this year!
By: colecrook on January 11, 2013
at 12:02 am
Thanks Cole! I hope this year is filled with peaceful moments for you.
By: faultlessfinish on January 11, 2013
at 2:46 pm
I am glad you are going to write more because, although a recent visitor to your Blog, I have come to enjoy it more and more, and have now put you on my Blogroll to remind me to check your site out. I love the idea of “Active Contentment. ” . Contemplation on the move. It resonates with many who struggle to find inner peace in an increasingly hectic world
By: countingducks on January 11, 2013
at 2:06 pm
“Contemplation on the move” – I love that phrase! Thanks for your kind words – I am new to your site as well and loving it!
By: faultlessfinish on January 11, 2013
at 2:47 pm