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#Cultivate2012 What Matters Now

What Matters Now: Cultivate is about living in the here and now. What matters most to you right now? How are you going to nurture what matters during 2013?

My family and my health matter the most right now. Without those, my life won’t be worth loving. I absolutely must focus my intentions on achieving better health and healing the bonds of my family.

I plan to make more family time in 2013. I want to have regular game nights, movie nights, picnics, and family outings. I want to clear some space in the budget to go out for ice cream on occasion. Obviously, I’ve already confessed my intentions to build a healthy, gentle movement routine. I’m going to remember that I want to succeed with my business because I want to focus on family and health.

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#Reverb11: What Matters Now

What Matters Now (Inspired by Seth Godin): Think about the here and now. What matters most to you right now? How are you going to nurture what matters in during 2012?

Right now my family matters most to me. The kids are growing up much too quickly, and before long another 16 years will pass, leaving me with an empty nest. I don’t just aspire to greater things simply because that’s what people are supposed to do. I dream big because I want to provide something better for the kids. I want to enjoy my life, and I want to breed that same virtue into my children. It isn’t about traveling or making the most amount of money — it’s about being secure and growing roots. My health also matters a lot to me, and I doubt toiling for a mere pittance will nurture my health in any manner whatsoever. I’m quite aware of the fact that I’ve likely lived about one third of my life already, and I’m also fully aware of all the risks that coming with aging. In keeping with my love of family, I need to be in the best health in order to make my big dreams come true. Being healthy means doing things right now. There is no rewind button on life, after all.

During 2011, I’ve learned how to nurture what matters, and I’ve learned what doesn’t nurture what matters. In 2012, I’m going to try going without gluten for about seven week’s time (yes, I’ve selected my Lenten vows already). During that period I’m going to pay attention to my body, and I’m especially going to pay attention when I reintroduce gluten into my diet. I’ve had a suspicious for most of this year that perhaps my body’s losing its ability to tolerate my beloved pasta and bread, and it’s time to experiment for the sake of health. I’m also going to make sure that my time is balanced properly as I work towards my goal of becoming 100% self-employed. Family should come first always, and the best way to ensure family comes first is to become the boss. If I’m the boss, I choose the hours, I choose the location, and I choose when to drop everything else for my family.

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#MindfulMonday What Matters Now

Seth Godin has posed this question before: what matters now? And truly, we do need to stop to ask ourselves this question. Right now. Sit down. Grab some paper and a writing utensil (I’m particularly fond of colored pens). What matters now? Here, I’ll go first…

My family’s financial wellbeing — and our overall wellbeing, of course — matters now. I’ve taken measures to do my part to recover from our financial disaster and begin rebuilding our lives. Right now, I must have focus, discipline, patience, strength, and stamina. This didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t magically change overnight, either. Right now, writing from the heart matters. While I’d certainly adore earning a living through my writing, right now I have to focus my efforts on other ways to earn income. Right now, I require a creative outlet for myself — to express myself, to write what needs to be written, to share what my heart wants you to read. Writing for money will come later when I’m fully prepared to undertake that effort. I privately journal my thoughts, feelings, frustrations, and daily interactions each night, a sort of mental defragmenting. Our hard drives run so much better after being defragmented, so you can imagine how much smoother thought processes run after mentally “defragmenting.”

I matter now. My part time job requires physical exertion, and it is my responsibility to all parties involved to take care of myself. I deserve that hour break to eat a good meal and read quality literature. (Did you know Hemingway and I both adore[d] polydactal cats?) Right now, at this very moment, what matters is that I pause between sentences and thoughts to pet the purring 6 year old kitten in my lap — because she’s still my kitten, over six years after this poor thing survived Hurricane Katrina. What matters now is that I’m alive and capable of changing things. I’m fully able to write my own story, to follow my dreams.

What matters now?

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