Ushering in 2008

Despite my silence in the blogosphere, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and planning in my life lately. 2007 was a mad dash from start to finish for my husband and I, ending with the inevitable crunch of the holiday season. Besides feeling reclusive, and protective of what little spare time I seem to be losing my grip upon, I am experiencing a strong seasonal urge to get my life organized, and in a way cleansed. Our recent downsizing of our living-quarters has made this need even more acute. I’ve discovered a great website for inspiration called Zenhabits, for anyone else who is similarly inclined.

Zenhabits got me thinking about goals. The author mentions that in order to actualize a goal in the time-frame of a year, we need to be very specific about attaining only one goal in one arena of our lives. This speaks to me, because I find myself pursuing so many interests that I never make any big breakthroughs in anything I’m applying my time to. Small ones for sure, ones that add up over time, but nothing monumental.

My first reaction was to find it somewhat confining to limit myself to one overriding goal for the year. But I knew what that goal would be almost instantly. It was somewhat pre-ordained. I need to get my organic garden established. So that will be my focus in my life.

Zenhabits also mentions cutting out the clutter in our lives – the things that distract us from our goals, regardless of our enjoyment of them. As much as blogging holds value in my life, it has never been a priority. I think I just need to be honest about that. That doesn’t mean that I will stop blogging. What this means is that I will limit my blogging to perhaps a monthly installment. I don’t see how I can commit to more than that. It may well be that I surpass my commitment and overload my archives, but I think I would rather keep things pithy for the most part.

What you will see here over the course of 2008, will be a monthly installment outlining small changes we can all make in our daily lives to ease the burden on the earth and offer hope for future generations. I may extrapolate through the month on my chosen topic, and I may interject some personal news here and there, but I will devote my blogging to my main goal.

I do hope these changes are to your liking. Feel free to let me know.

Every year I try to make a year-at-a-glance calendar with a photo and a quote. By the time I got around to it last year, I only needed to include the last 4 months of the year. This year’s quote, from an unknown source, is: “Always remember the beauty of the garden, for there is peace.” I hope re-reading this bit of wisdom, as I glance at my calendar, will inspire me to stay focused on my goal.

Cheers to all for a productive and awe-inspiring 2008!