Dearest Kindred Spirit,
I hope this finds you appreciating the gifts of 2011, and feeling refreshed and ready for this bold new year!
Welcome to my mini wrap up of 2011! Last year I learned much via the intensive educational process we call life!
11 things that happened in 2011 and what I learned from them :)
- A person in my circle needed to be cared for in a psyche ward. Frack! I didn’t see that coming!
I learned: to be appreciative of life, things, people and happy time (and to not take them for granted) - I bought all new bras when I realised I had been wearing the wrong size for years (plus they were fraying at the edges). I learned: boob health is important (check out bodywise for comfy non-underwire bras); having the confidence to actually wear tshirts/less-than-3-layers so the overflow doesn’t ‘ruin the line’? Priceless.
- I acquired an electric bike. It’s fun, and good for journeys when you’re going to be grateful for a battery boost on the way home in the dark. I learned: being an early adopter means you are helping create a demand for a good thing. This is good to remember when you are pedalling one-bike-with-the-weight-of-two the last bit of the way home under your own steam ‘cos you didn’t recharge your battery or it didn’t last as long as you expected.
- Made the mental switch to look at my art/site as a business, and registered my business name. I learned: I maybe could’ve done so earlier, but I am glad that I took baby steps until things had built up to a recognisable need for a registered name.
- Made 12 new greeting card designs and 2 new calendars (cats and flowers) from existing as well as several new paintings. I learned: Keeping taking steps in the right direction, little by little. You might surprise yourself in about September when you take stock of what you’ve achieved.
- Gave away 60 bookplate and 101 bookmark pdfs via downloads, and 138+ bookmarks in person at markets, and a customer told me that there’s no need to also give away pistachios! I learned: it is really fun to share my bright art with appreciative bold souls, and you don’t need to also share your snacks.
- Had my first downheartening experience of Empty Nest syndrome, and then a shot of maple syrup upon a Christmas visit, delighted to discover the same sweet person, glowing with independence. I learned: What a smart, lovely, creative person. All those years of imperfect parenting have contributed to a good soul :D
- Discovered that my thyroid gland was struggling and experienced a great deal of relief when I supported it. My brain fog cleared and my energy came back, amongst other symptoms abating. I learned: porcine thyroid is similar enough to human thyroid to rectify that problem. I give thanks every day when I take my blue pill (not in a symbolic Matrix sense – heck no!) for those piggies that give their thyroids if not lives for us, as the synthetic version is not for me. Now I feel like a cannibal when I eat bacon.
- Now my energy has returned I can happily go back to circus training, and do jogs instead of walks. I learned: walking all those months was a gentle way to keep exercising; now my body is working better, the bigger exercise I add in will actually ‘work’.
- Discovered that I need to follow a low FODMAPs diet and experienced another great wave of relief when those symptoms cleared up, and possibly the people around me did too. I learned: it’s good to cut out wheat, dairy and synthetic sweeteners, but sometimes I have to even be mindful of which fruit and vegies my gut can process well.
- Painted 2 Magic Cats cat portraits, and was honoured by the feedback. I learned: I can make things that touch people’s hearts. Now I need to gather up enough confidence to put that right ‘out there’ in 2012. Baby steps, baby steps, see #5.
So that’s my wrap up! If you’ve blogged yours, link to it from a comment below so we can join in celebrating your year, too!
Good travelling, beautiful bold soul.
See you next time,
Love Meg x o
* And when I say Fish obviously I mean LIfe Education