happiness project: THRIVE (2017)

cascade – 16 dec 2016

Here we are closing up the year 2016. And as people do, I’m thinking about what has gone by and how to plan for the new year ahead.

2016 was my year of CREATE. improvement. While I’m not sure that overall I’m that much more creative, I did try. I took a few photography classes. I took a knife skills class and tried out lots of new recipes. I took some knitting classes and knit a few hats. I took guitar lessons and learned to play a few songs. I journal a bit more, though not much on the creative side. No real crafty projects were done, unfortunately.

Thankfully, my organizing and simplifying projects from 2014 seem to have slowed down. I’m still working on organizing old photos and negatives, a home maintenance manual, cleaning up my iTunes, and more. These ongoing organizational projects will be continuing for some years, but I think I have found a good balance.

For 2017, my theme is THRIVE and TRAVEL. When I set up the themes for my project back in 2014, I had certain dreams of what my future would hold. Towards the end of this year due to a number of challenges, I have had to make some changes to my dreams.

The theme of THRIVE and TRAVEL had been about traveling more, seeing friends and family more, volunteering more, taking French classes, and attending more cultural events. But now that my direction has changed, the goals for THRIVE and TRAVEL change as well. Between less time to myself and a lot at Arabia that needs lots of work, the THRIVE and TRAVEL goals will focus on what I can do to THRIVE at home and on local TRAVEL outings. Perhaps instead of Red Cross deployments, I will volunteer at Arabia. Perhaps instead of classes for French, I will study the flora and history of Arabia. Perhaps instead of traveling far and wide, I will investigate places closer to home.

As with last year, each month will have a particular focus. Since I have crossed off so many items from previous years, some of the monthly focuses from last year are no longer relevant. I’ve replaced these with new ones that relate to my new goals.