Resolutions? Maybe……or maybe even better. 

This blog has been a while coming, and no, it is not too late, contrary to belief. As we are now into February 2016, I reflect on how I intended to approach the new year on January 1, and how in 24 hours it all changed.

As some of you may already be aware, on January 2 my mother suffered a potentially debilitating stroke. Lucky cannot even describe the chain of events that allowed Mom to receive critical medication in the ER that reverses the effects of the stroke allowing the brain to receive oxygen and begin a miraculous healing process. Now, with continued therapies including physical and speech, Mom is on her way to (hopefully), a 100% recovery.

We are still on this journey, the stars are aligning for a positive outcome, and I can honestly say I have been given a new perspective that will be the basis for everything I do from here on out.

As cliché as it sounds, I have decided that there are a number of things that need improvement in my life, and although I don’t want to refer to them as resolutions, they kinda are. Maybe by the end of this blog, I’ll have come up with a better term. With that, here is my list:

1)Spend more time, specifically, with my mother. Even with my crazy ridiculous schedule, this is a must, and somehow I will carve out a way to make this happen. Messages, wherever they come from, sometimes come subliminally, trickling their way forward, and then other times, messages hit you like a 2×4 to the head. This is the latter. Mom won’t be here forever, so whatever time we have left should be the best yet.

2)Listen more. Sometimes, I admit, I’m just not paying attention. With so much stimulation in everything I do, sometimes I just want to shut everything out. Which is ok to do from time to time, but when I am present, or in convo, or passing by, there’s the other part of life’s dialogue. That’s the message thing again.

3)Write more. I have been wanting to share my ideas for a while, in my business and in my life in general. Having expressed myself without words for so long, expressing through the movement of dance and the visual aspects of jewelry and design, being verbal in written form has not always been something with which I was comfortable. So going forward, writing may be an essay, or a blog on my website, or a vlog on a new YouTube channel I’ve got in the works. This new vein of verbal expression means in a sense, I’ll be my own publicist for joyarte, writing emails and marketing materials, and getting me out there. At least until I hire one. Publishing queen.

4)Art more. (more is definitely a theme here) Yesterday I saw a vision in my head for a beautiful gown. I’m not a clothing designer but why not put it on paper? Or put it in fabric? Maybe it’s something I just wear myself. The day before that I listened to music that spurred movement unlike what is typical in my choreography repertoire. Choreography with hard hitting punches? Why not? I can…I should! And I will. Jewelry that sparkles with precious stones and diamonds. A dream? Yes but its time has come. I’m jumpin’ in!

5)Post more. All that expression needs to go somewhere….I’ve got all the platforms. But don’t expect a post on what I had for dinner. 

6)Follow through more. I make lots of lists, but lists don’t help if you don’t ever look at them again once they’re written. And if I make a plan, stick with it! And if it needs tweaking along the way, tweak and continue. Can you tell I’m talking to “self”?

7)Take more risks (three of the above speak directly of this!!!)  Soooo…..“Self,” I say, “accept that it doesn’t always have to be perfect”. That has been one of the biggest things holding me back. Instead of just putting it out, I tend to wait for just the right moment, or just the right package, or just the right piece. Life is a work in progress, so why can’t everything else I do reflect that? Risk on a WIP, I say.

8)Purge more. Waaaaaaay too much stuff. Really, I just don’t need it all. My closets, my garage, my cabinets, my office, my artistic work space, and yes, even too much in my head. And I’m not just talking about the piles of filing. I have more than enough clothes (I can go shopping in my closet for now), I have more than enough chachkes on my shelves and in cabinets, and I have stones in my workroom I know I will never use. So between a combo of Ebay, Etsy, Goodwill, and a facility that offers free art classes to under privileged kids, I’m cleaning house. And that overstuffed mind thing? Yeah, cleaning that by putting more down on paper….That will definitely free up some RAM space up there, too.

9)Organize more. I spend lots of time looking for things I can’t find, therefore wasting time. If it’s in the same place every time, labeled and clearly marked….?? With all the purging, I will actually have room to really organize things, because currently, I’m cramming things in a space way too small to possibly accommodate all I’m trying to “put away”. Purge ‘n Put.

10)Give more. If you give, you get. The balance of everything. It’s like a ball that bounces on the ground, or the boomerang that’s thrown in the air. It all comes back. The universe works with this pendulum, and I spend more time working against it. Give and then give some more.

11)Laugh more. I actually started doing that last year. What a difference a laugh makes. And don’t get me wrong, not laughing AT anybody…..merely laughing at myself. I don’t want to be so serious all the time any more. And in this way, it’s much easier to let things go that aren’t really such a big deal after all. Giggling. Laughing. And hard.

12)Be myself more. Not that I wasn’t myself before; it really was only a smidgen…sometimes I wouldn’t show any of myself when I was emotionally charged about things, be it anger, sadness, conviction, or simply silly giddiness. My intention is now to give you a glimpse of that part of me, which previously had been quite hidden and reserved. Be. My. Self.

And that’s it. That’s my big list of twelve. ……Wait! There it is….

My new moniker for the new year……..List of Twelve……And PLENTY to work on in 2016!