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2011: a year of contentment

1.04.2011
























2010: a year of slowing-down and increased self-reliance
.received the good news that i was accepted into grad school.
.enjoyed day-trips into san francisco with ceej.
.started to write more.
.fell in love with our container garden.
.learned to knit and found i could not stop.
.settled on a simple hair-cut so ceej could be my personal stylist.
.let go of the idea that i had to make my own clothes.
.spent my first summer of grad school in asheville, north carolina.
.found out the good news that we were moving to utah.
.made many a road trip to california's beautiful national parks.


2010 was good to us.

2011: a year of contentment:

i am very ready to take each day as it comes to me...
to find the deep magic that lies within the ordinary.
i am ready to embrace this stage in my life:
i am a woman in my small part of the world,
learning to write what my soul and this earth are trying to tell me,
willing to practice the piano and violin everyday...enduring mistakes and repetition,
i am eager for conversations with neighbors to change my point of view,
to give me a heart full of empathy.
i am ready to accept that this year can only offer 365 days, not a lifetime.
i am a novice, a wee babe, in this world
and i am committed to a slow pace that will win the race.
i find no need to seek out more, but to seek out less:
less busy, less travel, less buying, less doing.
i don't have to accomplish big things,
i am satisfied with little victories:
one page written, a small joyful roadtrip with ceej spent in a tent, a phone call to a friend.
i don't have to say profound things at this young age of 29...
i am happy to be a beginner. learning. trying. falling. repairing.
this year i will spend a summer studying at oxford...for me, this is big. about as big as it gets.
this year i will have a reunion with all six of my siblings.
this year i will read at the end of each day, and enjoy the hard work of life-time writers.
this year i will write and re-write and re-write and re-write.
this year i will sit on my porch and knit.
this year i will do what needs to be done,
spend time here and there with friends and family,
and i will find enjoyment in silence.
this year i will find that life is just as i want it to be:
honest, simple, solid, true,
and i will be content with whatever each day will bring.


if you could narrow your resolutions down to one word,
what would you hope for 2011?


14 comments:

Luise said...

as we say in germany: you speak from my soul! meaning you express exactly what i feel. or maybe what i should feel. want to feel. thank you!

and i can smell the air in your pictures!

and wow: oxford? that IS big!!

my word for 2011: pioneer

Dori the Giant said...

You have such a long list.. I hope you accomplish all that you can.

My one word for my 2011 goals would be redemption.

Jane Flanagan said...

I love this post and your approach to the year. I think I want steadiness. I had a whirligig 2010... up and down and lots of spinning. And I want to be more steady and calm in 2011... even though I know there will be ups and downs and stressful moments and exciting ones. I want to stay grounded.

Happy New Year!

Cindy said...

grace.

Jared said...

Congrats in Moving to Utah :)

Cassie said...

gentleness

stephanie said...

Balance is my word for 2011. There are only so many things I can do each day and so many things that my heart can hold on to. So I have to be balanced in how I see everything.

Lovely post, as always. :)

Nicole Jeannette said...

Patience.

mysterymoor said...

I love these photos SO MUCH!!

ilwen said...

2011 will be a year of healing - calming down, taking care of my precious health as much as I can, rethink career plans, dare to slow down, exercise, eat healthy, travel healthy, seek healthy relationships to friends and kindred spirits and rest my soul from the exhaustion of 2010.

Tonia said...

A year's hopes in one word? Love.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post, I hope 2011 becomes the year of contentment you are hoping for.

My word of the year last year was Chrysalis. This year, it is Confidence.

GailO said...

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment because otherwise I would not have found this spot! I love your photos and your words and will be by visiting often. One thing I hope to embrace during the year 2011 is some simple yoga...if only I lived near you! I am having difficulty finding a place to learen that is closer than 45 minutes away...

Julie said...

I will be look for peace this year. Peace with myself and all the things I set before me to do. Peace with all the things I don't end up doing or becoming.

I am so glad you say 29 is young-I am turning 30 this year and I am looking for peace about this too!