And, being a child of Southern California, I watched the Rose Parade, and for many reasons was tickled that the theme was Dr. Seuss' "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"
Where I've Been
Not around here, obviously. I only posted 8 entries in 2012. Partly for a good reason: work has been crazy busy! I felt like I was stretched, and grew at work: socially, professionally, and intellectually. The downside of feeling stretched is that sometimes I felt stretched a bit too thin. Especially when the holidays came around, and we piled all of the school & community events (particularly hula) on top of the usual tasks. But somehow, we held it together and made it to this vacation oasis.
Being stretched too thin, as many a person juggling career and family knows, means that often something has to give. That "something" this year were the physical and emotional areas, which I had spent the past few years getting in order. My "oxygen mask" mask of blogging and healthy eating and fitness habits? Seems to have gotten sucked out the window and is lying, battered, in a cornfield somewhere.
Although I didn't post it here, I did pick a word for 2012. That word was "realize," because I liked the duality of it: awareness and accomplishment. I think I realized a few things this past year:
- I accomplished and grew a lot in 2012, in a myriad of ways.
- Even if I'm not in the greatest physical condition of my life, I have so many reasons to be happy and grateful.
- However, I can't really consider myself "successful" if I'm neglecting basic self-care. Part of those above-mentioned "reasons" are my family, and they need me to be healthy.
- I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I need to "un-slump" myself. This prospect, of course, makes me want to go take a nap.
Where Do I Want to Go?
Taking a nap wasn't really the logical thing to do today. I already had a good night's sleep and a stomach full of "spackle". So I thought, "What other healthy thing do I want to do now?" It was a gorgeous day, so the choice was easy-peasy: I went for a hike. I went to a place I like to go when I'm feeling thoughtful and want to get a sense of the grandeur of where I live, the bluffs north of the harbor.
Glad to have nice weather during my vacation!
(Also glad that Picasa 3 added some cool photo editing effects...it's the little things.)
Beautiful Pillar Point...
...complete with "ice cream cone"
...complete with "ice cream cone"
During my walk, I enjoyed the sunshine and fresh ocean air. The "place" I really want to be, I thought to myself, is "well". I remember, from my time in a club I was in during high school, that we filled out a sort of self-assessment that had areas like "physical," "emotional," "spiritual," etc. It turns out that what we had learned about was the "Six Dimensions of Wellness" model by Dr. Bill Hettler. I think that my next post will be my map for each of those areas for 2013. I'm not much of a "new year's resolutions" type of girl, but I think having a sense of direction will be helpful, per a good quote I found today:
"Happiness is essentially a state of going somewhere, wholeheartedly, one-directionally, without regret or reservation." - William H. SheldonI have 4 more days to reflect and make my 2013 "Trip Tik"...which come to think of it, is a pretty good metaphor for what I need. Anyone remember those, or travel using one? I had one for my road trip to North Carolina back in 1989, and it was great! It was a bound booklet, and each narrow strip of a page was a segment of the route. It was handy to have a detailed picture of the next "chunk" of the trip, with clear direction about where to go.
I also saw the following one, but I'm still formulating what my "something to be enthusiastic about" will be, with respect to physical health. In years past, it was triathlon, and recently it has been hula. All I know is I want to bring back my quarterly events, even if I'm not the most serious of athletes, because they make me feel enthusiastic and alive.
"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." - Charles Kingsley
