Hello 2015

I always have mixed feelings about this time of year. It's bright with newness, with the promise of change. The calendar ticks over and starts again. Soon there will be sweet cakes eaten at Chinese New Year, Autumn Leaves Viewing as the weather gets cooler, the regional eating and drinking fest that is the Eurovision Song Contest, the excitement of planting time in Spring, and finally Mince Pie Season rolling around again. It really doesn't seem that far away, and it's exciting.

On the other hand, this time of year is traditionally the time for New Year's resolutions. Just the thought of them makes me shudder, and yet at the same time I'm fascinated by them. I always check other people's lists with morbid curiosity. Are they sensible or wildly optimistic? Easily measurable or hopelessly vague? Positive about the future, or just an excuse to beat up on the self of the past?

Usually by this point, I've already given in to the urge to make resolutions of my own, and I'm just looking at other peoples' to get some kind of validation. Then I look back on all of my past failures, like the year I resolved to practice piano once a week, and I didn't do it, Even Once. And the year I resolved to learn to throw a pizza -- it sounds like a heap of fun and may probably only take a single afternoon, yet I never did that either!

Then suddenly out of the blue, I remembered the Indian concept of four rooms:

“There is an Indian proverb that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual . Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.” -- Rumer Godden

I definitely tend to spend most of my time in the mental room. This is inevitable at work, and with many of my hobbies -- reading, writing, watching documentaries on TV, designing knitting/crochet patterns, etc. Aiming to spend more time in each of the other rooms and make my life more balanced really appeals to me. So instead of setting concrete goals for myself that I might fail at or become disinterested in, I will just list some things I wouldn't mind concentrating on at some point -- no pressure! Quite a few of the things fall in more than one room, so I've listed them in each place where they seem appropriate.

physical: stretching/yoga; making sure I don't sit too long at work; lunchtime walks; using my cross-trainer; walks/exploring in my neighbourhood; bushwalking; dress in Mori Girl more often; continuing to wear clothes I like and sew more; doing Princess Time when I feel like it; get another tattoo

mental: read more books than last year; design some knitting/crochet patterns; blog more than last year; continue with Ralph (my weekly to-do list)

emotional: processing; fractal flowers; being more honest with my emotions; being my own Big Sister

spiritual: stretching/yoga; processing; bushwalking; dress in Mori Girl more often; get another tattoo

things that could go in 3 or all 4 rooms, really: finish unpacking my house, at least to the point where I can start using my library and hobby room properly; being more mindful; drawing; working in my art journals; visiting places that inspire my creativity; going on some kind of retreat; cooking new recipes; working on craft projects, preferably finishing at least one long-term project

Work is going to be very busy in the next couple of months, so I might not get time to post much. I'll see you when I see you.