We’re one week into a new year and a brand new decade. I hope it has been a beautiful beginning for you. If it hasn’t though, know that that is okay too.

While I spent the holidays in a woodland paradise it was not all blissful days of perfection (though there definitely moments of that). Instead, there were unexpected external stresses that popped up which meant extra work to be done. There were injuries. There was a group of people all navigating their own feelings, wants and needs. And so, I find myself feeling a little late to welcoming 2020 in a way that is right for me.

I need solitude. I need time for meditation, reading,  yoga and reflection. Though I adore being the woods, I have found to my surprise that it is here in my little old house on the prairies that I can get all those things I need. It is here that I can organize my thoughts, then dream and plan for the year (and decade) ahead.

Long ago I gave up making new year’s resolutions. They seem too strict for me. Making them I always felt like I set myself up for failure. Instead I began focusing on my aspirations for a new year. With aspirations it is okay to have a bad day (or week), it is okay to mess up from time to time. I find aspirations allow more freedom on the journey to your goals.

So, today on a cold and windy Saskatchewan day,  one week into 2020 I will finally light a candle, sit down with a cup of Earl Grey tea and dream about the year ahead. I will write down my aspirations for 2020.

If you have yet to give this gift to yourself, I invite you take a few moments over the next few days and put pen to paper for your dreams. Here’s to a year of hope, intention and beauty.

Namaste

Photo by Kristin Vogt http://www.pexels.com/kristingroth2