Day 17,647 Gratitude: Bullet Journaling

Here we are ... the last week of January.  Although quiet here on the blog, I've been here, um, there, er, in my Magic Beans Workshop above.  Collaging continues.  I'll share more soon.  There are gems that I've been commissioned to wire-wrap into pendants.  Reiki shawls have been in progress.  And, last but not least, there has been a fair amount of brainstorming too.

On that end, Bullet Journaling has been a new year blessing to me.  These daily lists not only capture the things I need to do, but also events, observations and ideas ... the things that might otherwise float away, uncaptured and unexplored.  I've slightly modified the process to suit the way that I'm wired and, as a result, I'm accomplishing things that have been bugging me in their undoneness for months ... if not years.  Why has this system been so successful for me?  Simple.  I get tired of writing down the same undone tasks each day.  Get 'em down.  Get 'em done.  Move along.

What tools and techniques have been keeping you organized and inspired as we move forward into 2014?

Day 17,620 Gratitude: Creature Comforts

In the midst of a winter storm, the things for which I'm feeling most grateful take the form of creature comforts ... the reliability of our furnace, yes, when the thermometer reads 19 degrees ... and soft things, good music, hot tea and nourishment borne of the oven, especially.  I received an essential oil diffuser for Christmas this year.  It's rocking (and relaxing) my world.  I've been enjoying Purification for the better part of the day.  I'm gearing up to crochet beside a blazing fire tonight.

Joy, magic, beauty, pleasures and happy surprises don't always show up in grand form each day ... but they do show up.  Always.  For this I am so grateful.

(Please share with me what you are most grateful for today.  Gratitude begets gratitude, so don't be shy.)

Day 17,619 Gratitude: Bridges

 

Although quiet here, the second half of December was a flurry of activity that included successfully completing the local 5K race for which I'd been training, fetching the daughter from college for winter break, celebrating the holidays with family and friends ... while continuing to sling gel medium and bits of this-n-that onto business cards.

 

Up until the last five days of December, I still believed that, with focused effort and the ability to bend time, I could finish all 100 cards.  It was feasible, yes, but it was not practical.  I've learned a lot from this project so far.  One of the biggest lessons has been that determination to finish for the sake of finishing, at the expense of enjoying the process, isn't worth it.  My guiding word for 2013 was "gentle" and the generous application of it was called for here. 

 

Gentleness aside, I loathe breaking promises and falling through on plans, but had to remind myself that it wasn't as though I'd decided not to finish at all.  I was simply adjusting the timeframe for completion.  That said, as of last night, I have completed 50 of the 100 collages.  You can take a closer look at them on Flickr.  The remaining 50 collages will be made before the end of this month. 

 

So now, rather than representing closure, this project bridges the old year with the new.  For a girl who so often feels like it's her work to bridge worlds, this makes perfect sense.  For what's been done, what's to come and the bridge between the two ... I am so deeply grateful.