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#365Altars Lighting A Candle

Just once more, the frosty peppermint snow candle is lit. Just shy of an eighth remains, the jar blackened by the flame. Still, the flame towers high, emitting that sweet scent into the air. As I meditate upon the candle, frustration sets in. Set backs have crept up this week — but this is the year I intended to change everything. Times flies past as my frustrations build. Most of the wax remains solid, the flame still flickering softly upon the mantle. Its warm glow provides a very small, limited area of zen amid. It reminds me that it is possible to contain a state of zen within a very small, limited area — like the area within myself. Unlike the candle, however, I do not possess a glass container in which to contain my peace — nor would I wish for such. Glass can shatter, scattering sharp shards. Glass keeps things out, which is good for a candle — but not for a person. A person needs people and experiences to permeate the barrier for the sake of growth and development. These set backs are part of my growth and development. So while I greet them with disdain now, I will wish them farewell with gratitude.

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#ThankfulThursday Living the Gratitude

I’d been riding the day’s many joys so much that I had nearly forgotten to write. My shift was short and smooth. The grocery shopping afterwards went equally smooth. I came home, put everything away, reorganized the pantry (which had gotten a bit cluttered and out of control), and prepared one of my signature dishes. I baked a cake mix I got for Christmas (and it came with an adorable cake server), then I frosted it with some fancy new frosting dispenser. Cute edging on my cake made easy? Yes, please!

And to top everything off, I received news from my good friend Nicki that her baby girl Kenna’s defying odds like her brother did before her. Baby Kenna was born on Monday at 24 weeks gestation due to fetal and maternal distress. Nicki had been suffering from pre-eclampsia and had been desperately adhering to bed rest in the hopes to keep her baby girl in as long as possible. Luckily, the high risk doctors foresaw a premature delivery and administered medication to help Kenna’s lungs develop faster. Today Kenna underwent her first surgery, and she came through beautifully. I’m so incredibly thankful for medical advances that make this possible, as well as for the power of prayer and positive thinking. Whatever your religious (or non) alignment is, I’d say it’s easy for everyone to appreciate the miracle of a tough preemie.

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#365Altars by Wholly Jeanne

Let me premise this by saying that if you’re not following @whollyjeanne, you should. She’s brilliant and packed full of Southern charm. This year she’s created 365 Altars, meant to “honor our deepest sumptuous selves.” Honoring myself daily also ties into cultivating myself. In order to cultivate a life worth living, I need to honor myself. So I’m participating in this project — on and offline. Even if you don’t see a post, I’m practicing offline mostly. That’s really the point, I think. So far I’ve been honoring myself with writing time, coloring time, exercise time, plenty of water, and as much nourishing food as I can squeeze out each day. I’d like to increase my sunshine quotient, too, but the weather needs to cooperate on a certain level.

So if you haven’t yet noticed, I’m following along with three other projects that feed into my Cultivate project. Each project incorporates ideas to better ourselves and our lives. This year I’m cultivating a life worth living by honoring my deepest sumptuous self, attending the Manifestival, and living the list!

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#MondayMeditation Soaking In the New Year

We’re already nine days into 2012 (two thousand twelve or twenty twelve?), and already I feel a greater peace with my life than I did this time last year. Perhaps that’s because last year I was just beginning my journey living under someone else’s roof. This year I’m anticipating a move very, very soon. We may not achieve our February 1st goal due to some very complicated reasons of which I will not explain in public, but we have definitely spent the majority of our time here at this point. Even if our plans get pushed back to, say, March 1st, we’ll still be alright. I’ve allowed myself to explore ideas to cultivate a life worth living (yes, I’m going to repeat this phrase over and over again throughout the year — brace yourselves!), as well as explore other projects that encourage readers to revel in themselves and their dreams. Incidentally, I’m much more pleasant when I’ve taken care of myself. I don’t do as well when all I’ve had to eat is junk and I’m dehydrated. I’ve known this for years, but somehow I always end up letting my needs fall to the back burner when I’m asked to do something else. In those cases, I carry resentment. Resentment turns into stress, headaches, migraines, back pain, and a weakened immune system — seriously not a good state of being for anyone. This is why I think we should all stop to cultivate ourselves. It’s a holistic approach to feeling better and performing better, and there shouldn’t be a sense of guilt or selfishness involved. After all, I end up feeling guilty when I feel resentful towards someone I care about just because I stopped to do something for them instead of eating breakfast or washing my face.

Today’s Cultivate 2012 actions were: eating chocolate cereal instead of snacking on cookies and fudge (note to self: unload the rest of the fudge on unsuspecting co-workers); completing crunches and yoga; meeting my water quota by 4PM; writing in green metallic ink; and spending a little extra time to plan a nice meal for Thursday night.

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#Manifestival2012: Making Space

Last week I was introduced to a complementary project called Manifestival, which essentially encourages us much like how Cultivate encourages us. Both projects aim to help us achieve our goals and dreams, and I feel that incorporating this sister project will facilitate the cultivation process. During its first week, Manifestival focused on making space in various aspects of our lives. It’s been a lot to digest and process, and they have slowed down a bit to allow participants the opportunity to fully absorb the content. Thus far we’ve been encouraged to make space for nature, our home and objects, sounds and music, movement and meditation, and food and sustenance.

Given that I’m planning a move (that may be getting pushed to March 1st instead), making space resonates deeply with me. I especially need to make space with regards to our objects as we continue planning, packing, and downsizing. Moving has a way of inspiring us to purge the unnecessary items that we seem to mindlessly accrue over time. “I’m packing this why?” I definitely need to take more time to make more space for important items and to make the new space we’ll inhibit much less cluttered. Packing and unpacking frustrates me because too much junk can prolong the process.

Making space for food, sustenance, movement, meditation, sounds, music, and nature feeds directly into my motivation to cultivate a healthier lifestyle in which I’m thriving: mindfully preparing a nourishing, healthy meal; soaking in my surroundings using all five senses while taking a walk; getting lost in my favorite songs; quieting my mind so as to bring mental relaxation and rejuvenation.

I see a lot of promise in Manifestival. I highly recommend you follow it as a supplement or complement to Cultivate, just as I recommend following the Live the List Challenge. These projects are going to help us cultivate our dreams.

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#LiveTheList Our 2012 Master List

You may recall me reviewing Live the List, written by my friend Nicole Andrews. I was so inspired by her book and challenge that I decided to adopt her idea for me and my family. On New Year’s Day we sat down and created a list that would take us through 2012. Here it is:

  • Have a picnic at Crawfish Springs
  • Take a day-trip to Atlanta
  • Go to AWA (Anime Weekend Atlanta)
  • Go bowling
  • Move into our own place
  • Fix the van
  • Work towards getting Meredith a license to drive
  • Visit Florida
  • Explore Chattanooga
  • Get White Castle (NOT the freezer aisle stuff)
  • Go to the mall in Chattanooga
  • Hold a Cultivate 2012 conference
  • Pay down our debt
  • Transfer some or all credit card debt to a 0% introductory APR card
  • Make Electrate Editorials a viable business
  • Go to the moves as a family and/ or as a couple
  • Find a local place that sells orange blossom honey
  • Test out local pizzerias
  • Try Choo Choo BBQ
  • Go to One-Eleven
  • Make muffins with Tati
  • Teach Rob how to cook
  • Rob wants to learn how to hit two baseballs with one bat
  • Teach Tati how to jump rope
  • Take the kids to a baseball game
  • Potty train Brian Jr.

Following the Live the List Challenge ties in beautifully for cultivating a life worth living. Finding our happiness throughout 2012 will strengthen our bonds and brighten our outlooks. During the year I’ll share updates when we cross an item off our list.

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#ThankfulThursday #Cultivate2012

It probably sounds too egotistical, but I’m incredibly thankful for my inner brilliance showing through finally. Maybe it’s all the Hemingway literature I’ve been devouring, maybe it’s the inspiring new people I’ve been reading, or maybe it’s the inspiring people who are encouraging me. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful that I conceived of the Cultivate project, and I’m grateful that you’re following me down this path. Life feels like a good story at this moment — you don’t know where it’s going next, and you can’t wait to read on to find out more. I’ve got two days off in a row tomorrow, and you can bet that I’ll be spending some quality time with my family making memories and crossing items off of our lists. I haven’t felt this good about the start of a new year in a while. The last time I felt this good about the start of a new year, I ended up doing something epic. Considering how awesome that turned out, I have a strong sense of hope for 2012. I’m exceedingly thankful for the fresh start this year has offered me. While to some it’s an arbitrary change, to me this feels like a second chance to seize hold of my dreams — a second chance to build that better life, starting right now.

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January Outlook

Embarking upon this #cultivate2012 journey has changed my focus to cultivation. I had at one point thought that January 2012 would be about realigning my life, but that doesn’t seem to fully encompass the ideas behind my Cultivate project. During this month I really need to focus on fostering better habits and nurturing myself, my family, and my business. Somewhere in December, a spark began to grow inside of my mind, and I want to fan those flames. I want to keep building that fire. But success starts small, so I need to focus on cultivating myself first. I need to get back to taking better care of myself, and I need to ensure I find that place of my own. My most important goal at this moment is to pack our things and move to a place we can call home — a place that nurtures our family, provides sanctuary, and fosters growth as individuals and as a family. I need that peace most of all in order to thrive. I nurture myself and my family better when the kitchen belongs to me and no one else. I don’t play well with others when it comes to sharing a kitchen. I need space and time when in the kitchen, and I need time to eat and enjoy my food with my family before I clean up the inevitable mess I create in the kitchen. And as a foodie, the best way to nurture my family and cultivate myself is by way of food.

I’m going to continue with my posting schedule, too. I still enjoy taking pictures, and I’m liking not going to outgrow my love of food any time during this life. I also value reflecting upon the blessings in my life and expressing gratitude as such. I’ll introduce the Live the List Challenge series to hold myself accountable for living the list. I’ll do my very best to bring thoughtful and inspiring content for my Monday Meditations. As for Tuesdays and Sundays, we’ll see what I decide. I’m thinking this little lady may decide she deserves a couple of rest days to recharge her creative energies. I foresee a very successful month in which I increase my income, my quality of life, and find an adorable new home. This first month of 2012 brings with it shiny new opportunities and tons of promise.

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