Hanging by a Thread
Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 01:37PM
Week two of our new year...I am hanging by a thread trying to get everything put away, cleared out, organized and making my list for moving forward. January always feels like the first day of school did when I was a kid...exciting to have a new start..with new pencils and paper. Notebooks with wonderful covers that were gifts this year. My writing awaits me but I cannot begin until all is in order.
I want this year to have more meaning, more intensity of purpose. I want to follow my dreams and reach for the stars. There is no excuse not to be able to do this...it really is all about choices and a little word called..NO. It is a small word but it has a lot of power if we can remember to use it when the need arises. I'm learning and I'm getting so much better at it.
January is also my birthday month. This year I was forced to take a better look at what that means. I really wanted to be aware of time passing, more quickly each year. To calculate what I expect to do with the rest of my life..and so I've made some promises to myself. I am, of course my own worst enemy. So, once again I will break some bad habits...learn to be more disciplined in my writing and photography and most importantly, get back to the life I love. Where I call the shots for where my time is spent and not being pulled in so many directions...
Each year...I pick a word for the year. I thought this year that I would skip that process, until I stumbled on my word...it fits me and my frame of mind perfectly. This year my word is Nourish...I love the way that word falls off my tongue. I love the visions that dance in my head when I see it. It was exactly the word I needed but didn't know it..but now I own it.
I will nourish my dreams..I will write. I will photograph, I will hang with my Grandsons as often as possible. My kids are funny and entertaining and full of knowledge. I want to spend as much time in their space as possible and I relish the written word of others so I want to read more books. I'm making a separate notebook to keep track of what I read and what the book was about and even where I heard about it...and of course I want to walk with Jim to so many more destinations. He wants to get a Teardrop (google it)...I don't. I know though, that we will meet somewhere in the middle.
So where does this all leave me...I'm giving up holding on by a tread. I did that last year. This year it's all about letting go...waking up each day with the freedom to choose my path for that day. To stay in the moment, be focused and disciplined. To know that mornings are for brain work and late afternoon or evenings can be for trolling the internet. I can no long let other people control my time. Either in person or on the net. I have so many friends in so many places...that is a joy. I will not be far away from them...but I won't be jumping each time I hear a ping or a ring..this, my friends won't be easy.
So that is my plan...as the year unfolds in all it's delights and mysteries..we'll see how I do if I let go of that thread...I might dangle for awhile, as I learn my way, but hopefully you will all see the results of my resolve to to nourish myself...one foot in front of the other. One day at at day...moving forward in grace...
This Guest House (Rumi)
Linking up with Texture Tuesday...photo textured with Kim Klassen's Chill
Reader Comments (30)
A teardrop. I lust after a teardrop. Inspirational words my friend. :)
I know you do Chris...your the one who started this mess. If we get one..(Not) maybe we'll drive out to get you...I will forever think of you each time I hear the word TearDrop...
Wonderful Cheryl
Thanks Peg...you are my true and faithful friend...
Beautiful photograph. Lovely words too.
Oh, I love those little tear drops too! But I lust after an Airstream -- for the days after we give up the boat! I'm used to living in small spaces! Love your word and think it's perfect for you -- I've been hearing quite a few choosing nourish and flourish this year. And many resolving to cut back on social media time so as to have more time to devote to our passions. Including me. As a friend of yours, I want to say that I understand and support that. And if you're not on as much, I will be glad for you because I know what you will be doing will be nourishing to your soul. I know you're still there. Time is of the essence, there is no question. So give live your fabulous life and check in once and a while to let us know how it's going! xo Sherry
Sherry Galey...you always know just the right words to say to me...on my post about the spoons Ruthanne Annaloro wrote a wonderful comment about friendship...if you have a minute go back and read it...our paths were meant to cross and whenever we gather, whether here or in person (let's do it)...you are always on my friends list and in my heart...truth be told...Jim would really have the airstream also...
Nourish. A wonderful word. And I love, love, LOVE your photo. The pink softness and the lovely white pitcher {so similar to one I have} and the background of a white door. Very calming, perfect for a winter day.
You, Cheryl, will nourish yourself, and I will flourish this year! So appropriate for us both. Nourish is such a wonderful word...having depth and strength among so many other grand characteristics....things that we all need to grab onto and take with us the rest of our life. 2014 brought many adventures for us to face, look at, and decide, in 2015, whether or not we want to hang onto them, or let them go. Without that journey, we would be living a different life. Our paths have now crossed, in an unexpected and beautiful way, and that was a wonderful part of 2014 for me. It is a challenge and sometimes difficult to let go of little ways we've become accustomed to...like the ping or bleep of our devices "calling us"... The question I pose often about these things (i.e. FB, IG, Flickr, blog, etc.) 'did it change or improve the outcome of my day'? I don't watch the news on TV because nothing from there ever changes, and it isn't changing my day. In the end, making a difference in someone else's life, even your own, is what really matters. Enjoy your 2015 of NOURISHING yourself!! xoxo
Thank you Dottie for your lovely visit and very kind words...I'm sometimes surprised by the lovely comments on my Still Life...some days it's such a struggle and then, like today, it just all came together...yes, I'm starting to really like the whites...and who doesn't love a touch of pink...Happy Week to you Dottie.
Oh Beverly you said it all so well...nourish and flourish...together. Funny how life changes and we are not even aware that it is happening...we meet people and go about our day and then we meet someone...and they become a steady...I love when that happens...it is the good that comes that out of social media...I saw your work so many years ago and fell in love with it right from the start...thank you always for your support, strength and example...I read recently that letting go of the old and welcoming the new allows us new adventures...well good luck with your big adventure coming up and I'll be watching you flourish...and the same over here...I'll write, read, and plan my days will nourishment in mind...let's keep walking this path...it seems to be a good one for us...thanks Chica.
Nourish is the perfect word! You should join Goodreads and keep track of your books there.
Wonderful, wonderful post Cheryl. I love the word "nourish". It just has so many implications that can be applied to daily life.
Fortunately for me I work full time and in a field where I do analysis. I have to be focused at all times and for hours. I have learned to shut off the notifications, the volume, the popup alerts etc… on my computer. I am not good at multi-tasking and worse so with every passing year. I find when I completely focus on one thing at a time instead of multiple things as technology has enabled us to do, that I am much more productive.
Internet friends, photography, home, family, work etc… require constant reassessing. Sometimes I start to slide again and then have to remember what is most important to focus my time on. It can be done but it does require readjusting from time to time.
Good luck with all of it. Nourish your soul, your mind, and your body. Hug your grandkids tight and enjoy time with family!
No is a wonderful word and I have learned to use it well over the last couple of years. There is no point in wasting your time on things that others want you to do if you don't enjoy them. I am afraid a teardrop would be too small for me. Glen is into tiny houses right now, again too small. I need space, high ceilings, open floor plan so the creative energy can be free to bounce around. I told him he could build me a tiny house for my studio :) Nourish is a wonderful word and well suited for where you want to go in 2015.
A lot of wisdom to ponder here, Dear Cheryl!
I love the month of January for reflection and calmness after the mass hysteria of the holidays.
My in-house lights still twinkle and I just melt into the atmosphere of quiet and peacefulness with no schedules.
I feel blessed by the opportunity to hibernate and savor the alone time. "Letting go" seems to be my ongoing mantra, year after year. Always astonished how difficult it is, but with age comes the wisdom that nourishing our souls frees us to be more present for our special friends and family. I feel thankful for the freedom to make daily choices in this very high-tech, complicated world. If we don't take care of ourselves, who is going to do it for us? I love the way you balance your life and time with your loved ones and activities which nurture your creativity and purpose . . . my wish for you is that you remain focused and dedicated to pursuing your writing, which is your amazing gift. Love always from your faithful supporter and friend . . .
Adding to the list here thinking you have chosen such a great word to take you through 15, I mean really Nourish is such a refined word in so many ways. I hear you on the "ping" and have decided I am taking my life back and not be ruled by the computer. One person I admire said there is so much goodness on the internet but also with that comes with time and time isn't always what I have if I want to Be Still with my photos. I truly love what you have done here with your image, it is dropdead gorgeous.
Good word for your year…..and a beautiful quote from Rumi. Your hanging white pitcher is lovely.
I don't think I could say it any better than Beverly other then you have the writing gift of an angel, and I hope to see a book of yours someday in the near future. I know you'll live life to the fullest in every way possible because you are who you are.
Firstly, you have to know how much I love this photo and those gorgeous red berries! And your writing always draws me in...you have no place to go but UP my friend! You have some excellent plans for this year. "Nourish" is such a great word!
Thank you Susan...I hope I can really work on my word this year...so far, so good but it's only mid-winter...the red berries have worked out really well for me this year...adds a nice pop don't you think...xo