Between a new baby and the holidays these past few months have been quite the whirlwind. It's taken me a little longer to figure out my yearly theme. I kept trying to find time to reflect on 2017 and look ahead to the new year. But my reflection time kept getting interrupted by just life. And time and time again, as I tried to get things done & take time to reflect, I felt prompted to just be still and to just listen and be present. I've had a word for the past 9 years and this is year 10 - how crazy it that? A decade of themes.
BEING BOLD in 2009
RECKLESS in 2010
SOPHISTICATED in 2011
AUDACIOUS in 2012
LIMITLESS in 2013
RESTARTING in 2014
AUTHENTIC in 2015
PERSEVERING in 2016
SIMPLIFY in 2017
The world has enough busyness and distractions. With my sweet new baby, I've felt the need to slow down and find more quiet moments to be still and present. Being still doesn't mean lack of action. In fact it takes CONSCIOUS effort to be still and slow down to be fully present in the moment.
I still believe there is power in writing down goals. But instead of writing out a long list of goals for the new year I've decided to try and make it a little more manageable by setting weekly and monthly goals that will evolve with the year because life with a newborn is crazy and I'm sure life is going to change with each stage and season. That way I can take time to be still each day and month and refocus to see how I'm doing and maybe what areas may need some help. This month I'm mainly focusing on being present with my little guy. Everyone tells me how quickly this time goes & so I want to soak in all the snuggles & smiles.
The biggest thing I'm learning this month is that BEING PRESENT IS BEING PRODUCTIVE. I've written about my problem with trying to be over productive & restless before over here and had already been learning to focus on being still last year. I thought I'd learned this lesson already after my accident, but having a new baby made me realize we continue to relearn lessons as our lives & circumstances change.
Now for my smaller monthly goals my focus for January is being present with William. I loved THIS talk where he says to choose one thing stop each day & one thing to start. I loved how simple that was and its so easy to implement at any time. And then my other goals for the month was to incorporate more "spiritual food" in my day as well as physical exercise/movement. With the new year I'm also trying to write more and putting out more videos, tips & insight into my life as an incomplete paraplegic mom - not so people can comment and say how amazing we are, but so somehow someday someone who was looking for resources (like I was) on "paraparenting" can find help and ideas. I use a wheelchair, walker, crutches and actually a lot of crawling.
I share to give hope. Hope for others with disabilities or injuries who wonder what their future holds. Hope for the mother whose child was born with a disability and wonder what their future will look like. Hope to those who may be facing challenges, illness and setbacks. Hope that one day all will be made right and all that is broken may be whole again because there is a Savior who atoned for all our sins, pains, sickness and injustices. Hope for a bright future regardless of our trials and circumstances.
With the passing of our dear prophet, Thomas S. Monson and Russel M. Nelson being called in his passing, I've started listening to talks and words of counsel they've each given. There are too many to list them all, but here's just one from each that would be worth a listen.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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