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12/5/10 Reverb Writing Prompt #5: Let Go

Dec 5th, 2010
by gazelle.
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Prompt: Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

reverb10.com

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Well, I did let go of Damian. ha!

I also let go of all the people in my life who were not enriching it. People that I had hesitated to let go of because I felt sorry for them, rather than because I actually enjoyed their company. The people who are so unhappy with their own lives, who have nothing positive to say, and bring down everyone around them.

Life is too short to waste time on pity friendships. Maybe that’s cruel of me, but I have learned long ago that I cannot fix people. There are times that I wish I could – there are a lot of people that I want to fix (they might not agree, but in this scenario, I am god). BUT – I cannot. And I cannot pretend to be any different. I have so many wonderful friends that have become family over the past years, and I do not need to hold on to people who cannot be friends, cannot be warm, cannot be happy.

12/4/10 Reverb Writing Prompt #4: Wonder

Dec 5th, 2010
by gazelle.
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Prompt: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

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This is a difficult question. I feel that overall, I didn’t. This year was (and continues to be) a year of hardness, of facts, of chores. There was very little in the way of flights of fancy, hopes, dreams, or wonder.

That, perhaps, is the problem.

I need to spend more time outdoors, where I generally do find a sense of wonder. I need more hiking, more running, more camping, more sleeping under the stars.

The architect and I took a couple weekend trips this year (in fact, we just got back from one, which is why this is a day late), and although they were great (love a king-sized bed and cable TV), they weren’t wonderful.

I think I have a new goal for next year.

12/3/10 Reverb Writing Prompt #3: Moment

Dec 3rd, 2010
by gazelle.
1 comment

Prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

Author: Ali Edwards
Memory Keeping Idea Books
@aliedwards

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There isn’t a single moment in 2010 that made me feel the most alive. Rather, it’s a series of moments & experiences – the time I spent trail running.

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It’s early spring and everything is coming to life.

The sunlight filters through the canopy, lighting rather than warming. The shadows dance over the surface of the trail as the trees move in the slight breeze. In places water flows over the trail, occasionally stopping in muddy pools. Everything is greens and browns – earth tones, of course; with pale yellow highlighting the sharp features of tree branches and the roots & rocks that litter the trail.

I feel the path under my feet, the rocks and roots adding texture that is absent from sidewalk runs. The mud splashes up onto my calves, shockingly cold and deeply satisfying.

The only sounds are birds  chattering, calling to each other, and flitting around in the brush (sounding much bigger than their actual size); the small streams – most temporarily formed by the spring rains; and me: my breathing, my heartbeat, and the rhythm of my feet.

The forest feels clean and purifying – almost meditative. I feel clean and purified and calm. I can almost smell the new growth in forest, fed by the spring rain. Everything is green and new and alive. I am alive.

12/2/10 – Reverb Writing Prompt #2: Writing

Dec 2nd, 2010
by gazelle.
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Prompt: Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?

Author: Leo Babauta
focusmanifesto.com
@zen_habits

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Ha! This is an easy one.

THE INTERNETS!

Both my reason for living and the bane of my existence. It’s so easy to get caught up in reading blogs, catching up on the amusing sites I like to peruse, updating facebook, playing silly games. When I actually do start writing, if I need to do a little research, it’s right at my finger tips! I don’t even have to write! I can research all day.

This is definitely something I should be able to change.  I am not sure about eliminating it, but I can cut waaaay back on the internet usage when I am supposed to be writing. I think it’s best to write and make notes about the things that need to be researched, rather than researching on the spot & losing the chain of thought in writing anyways.

However, knowing that a thing is possible and actually doing it are two different things, aren’t they? The internet is an endlessly fascinating place, and there are always new things to read.

I think this calls for an action plan!

I think step #1 will be clearing out my google reader to those blogs that are truly interesting to me, those that are valuable (i.e. canning & gardening blogs), and those that don’t make me angry!

I’m not sure what step #2 will be….I’ll have to think on that & update throughout the month.

I think I found some lint…

Nov 30th, 2010
by gazelle.
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You all know how much I love navel gazing. Maybe part of it is approaching 35 (yes, it’s over a year away, but in my mind, Feb 2012 is a huge, looming date, when everything starts all shiny & new). Or being unable to run much this year. Or just being a wee bit crazy in my own brain.

BUT – I am not the only one.

So – this December, I will be taking part in Reverb10 – a project to “reflect on your year and manifest what’s next.”

I have a lot of thoughts about how this last year went, and some definite hopes for the future; and would like to spend December thinking more about that than how freaking dark it is by the time I leave work, and where did I put my hat!?!

So – join me. Or not. I’ll try not to get too deep into the navel gazing that I lose sight of what’s actually going on around me. Contemplating self is not so useful when I forget to live, right?

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