2012 Dreaming

I just might be the last person on the planet (or at least this country) to set goals for the new year.  Normally I'm on top of this.  I love January like I love Mondays.  No joke.  I love the fresh slate, the freedom, the opportunity.  But this year, I actually considered a year without (yikes!) goals.  Well, I can't exactly manage that, but I can't think of my word either.  You see, I like to come up with a word for the year.  Last year, my word was CHOOSE. Here's a snippet of how I wanted to use the word:

• Choose happiness.
• Choose peace and simplicity.
• Choose to laugh at myself and my mistakes.
• Choose a passion. (Because being passionate about everything is exhausting. Focus on one thing at a time. Make a choice: What do you want to do today? Also, see #5.)
• Choose to be present. Always.

It worked out pretty well for me.  I made a lot of choices, let things go, added some new elements to my life, and embraced simplicity.

Now, I'm stuck.  

I have no word.  No focus.

And, for once, I think that's ok.
That doesn't mean I don't have desires . . . dreams . . .

• I want to take more camping trips with my family.
• I want to read more fiction.
• I want to have more fun with our homeschooling.
• I want to embrace new creative activities - painting, knitting, & drawing.
• I want to sew and craft more things for myself and my home, not just gifts for others.
• I want to raise chickens and expand our garden.
• I want to make a habit of writing poetry and journaling.

Basically, I want a balance of grounding and dreaming.  In the past, I've been involved in creative pursuits that led me to live too much in my head.  I wasn't grounded, and I was always looking for an escape.  I've spent the past year correcting that, and I feel so much better.  I focused on spending time with my family, teaching my children, growing food (nothing grounds you like digging in the dirt!), and making our lives simple yet full.  This year, I want more of that, but I also want to bring back my other passions. Slowly.  Hopefully I can achieve some sort of balance this time.

No word this year.  

Just dreams.