“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.”
― Ellen Goodman
I know I’m not the only one happy to say Goodbye to 2020. While it has been a challenging year to almost everyone I know, I won’t lie and say there weren’t bright moments. As I shared in an entry for Our December Mornings, my goal has been to look for silver linings in every possible thing. Because, of course, whatever you look for, you are sure to find.
I’m bringing that outlook into 2021 as well: to look for what’s good, what’s, right, and what is beautiful.
In the circles of magic and superstition, special attention should be paid to your actions on and before January 1st. And trust me, I leaned into that superstition in a lot of ways.
I prepared by doing All The Things to ensure the New Year began right.
- I cleaned house. I even got the steam mop out and did the floors, one of my least favorite chores.
- I emptied every trash can to ensure that we didn’t take anything out of the house on New Years. Yes, including one last bag of trash taken out around 10 PM.
- I went grocery shopping so that we began the year with a full cupboard and overflowing fridge.
- I washed all the laundry. Everything. Including fresh sheets, towels, dusting clothes (aka old t-shirts), and the only thing in our hampers New Year’s morning were the clothes we’d worn the night before.
- I deep-cleaned my office, even going through errant stacks of paper to ensure things got filed our tossed. Now my office is spotless and just waiting for the first work day of 2021.
- When I got dressed this morning, I put on a brand new shirt. Sure, it was just a plain, ordinary t-shirt from Target. But it still had the tags on it. (That’s supposed to be good luck for abundance in the new year.)
- I prepared all the lucky food: pork loin, black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread. More luck and abundance.
They also say that each action you take is an invitation to get intentional and align yourself with the New Year Mojo.
Though I woke up earlier than I would like, I began taking action aligned with my desires for 2021.
I did the daily mediation on the CALM App first thing. John was still sleeping, but the meditation was designed for not just sitting, but laying down. Though I’ve yet to officially choose my Word for 2021 or set all my goals, I do know that my health needs to be a priority in 2021 – especially when it comes to better managing my anxiety and paying attention to my blood pressure. I haven’t consistently exercised or meditated in far too long.
I did some writing. I have a series of books to publish in 2021. And I did some editing of the back-cover text for all four of the books today. As well as opened the Scrivener file.
I also came HERE. When my friend Christine Mason Miller (aka SwirlyGirl) posted on Instagram yesterday about resurrecting personal blogs, I had to admit it’s something I’ve been thinking about, too: what to do with this space. And how to bring my love of writing back here rather than squander it all on social media. So, as a point of bringing MoJo back to this space, I wanted to ensure that something went up here today.
As I mentioned before, I cooked all the good and lucky things for our dinner. But after coffee, I ensured I had a good meal: a Sous-vide Egg Bite from Les Trois Petits Cochons, cucumber slices, celery sticks, and a piece of toast made with Uprising Foods Bread.
Otherwise, I’ve done my best to RELAX today. A little movie watching together, some reading time, and forcing myself to do something I’m not good at: resting and just being. That’s a tall order for me, but I’m learning.
