You got me thinking when I posted A List Of Big And Small Things a week or so ago. Was my list really too big? Too ambitious? Was I setting myself up for failure?
The thing I started to wonder about mostly was the nature of my list. When I wrote the list, I never thought about it the way I'd think of a 'to do' list. It was much more fluid than that.
There's some things on that list that I know will definitely happen. For example, the fact that I'm on an employment contract with an end date means that I'll definitely have to get a new job. Whether or not the new job is fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable as my list states remains to be seen. I'm certainly working on understanding what I need, to increase my chances of finding what I'm looking for. My upcoming trip to the USA is another definite, and I'm pretty confident I'll have a fabulous time.
There are some things on the list that are goals. Like reading 13 books, and seeing my Mum more often. Losing 30kgs. These are pretty specific and I've worked out plans to achieve them. Again, things won't always go to plan, but I'm putting the things in place to give them the best chance.
Then there's the dreams, the wishes, the intentions. The things I hope for, the things I want to manifest. I don't really hold myself accountable for these. I just want to put them out there, to say to the universe 'these are the things I hope for myself and maybe they are meant to be'. These are the loose kinds of lists, the Mondo Beyondo kind. Things like take a trip to Port Douglas, writing a novel, move to a bright, spacious new house close to parks and the city, and spend NYE in Thailand. It will probably take a little bit of magic to make these happen.
At the end of the year I'll look back on the list and I'll reflect. I'll note the things that happened and those that didn't. I'll explore the year and all that it offered me. I'll take the position of an observer rather than an accountant. In doing so, I'll actually achieve one of the things on my list - 'Be kind, patient, trusting, understanding and calm with myself'.
But I'll tell you a little something. Sometimes the magic of a list is the willingness to dream, to wish, to hope. Sometimes the act of putting your intention out there is what brings your dreams closer to you. Sometimes you have to be willing to tell the Universe 'this is what I wish for, can you help me?.
So, how about you? Is there something you wish could happen this year? Why don't you write it here in the comments, and I'll be the keeper of your wish. Everyone who drops a wish in the comment box by Sunday night will go in the draw to win this collage.
I love lists! There is nothing like a good list to get you out of a funk and feeling a little more ambitious!
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool ... I'm not good with lists. I just feel hemmed in. It feels too much like work. But the I like the creative visualisation process ... and the idea of using craft to keep focussed. Your little wish canvas is gorgeous ... am I creating a list wanting to do one? LOL
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of little wishes for this year, realistic to me I hope, 1. finally master crocheting a granny plus more and 2. to knit something beyond a scarf, and a third is to have much improved health but I quietly whisper that to myself all the time. I should blog my goals so I can put it out there for all to read and make it feel more definite
ReplyDeleteI am a list maker and write one almost every day, but often I forget the realistic and achievable part!
ReplyDeleteMy husband says that for anything to happen, you have to form the intent first - you have to wish. I think that your list is a great thing, because you have clarified your intent and that in itself begins the process of making dreams come true.
And what do I wish for this year? Many things, but some time away as a family is a big one. And I'm already starting to get that organised - I've put the intent out there!
Nicely put - I hope some of the magical ones happen for you.
ReplyDeleteI love lists. I can't help but write them. If I don't then my lists just keep going around and around in my head and I can't relax. While I write this I am printing the rise and shine daily planner from sunny mummy. What I like is that there is the 'must do today' section and the 'try to do today' section. Gotta be realistic. http://stylemegorgeous-bysarah.blogspot.com/2010/01/get-sorted-in-2010.html I have a lot in my head about the year ahead but starting day to day and will think longer term very soon.
ReplyDeleteI've been making lists too - mine are more 'to do' lists rather than big goals (I don't think far enough ahead for that).
ReplyDeleteIf I had just one wish, well that would be easy.... but it would require some divine intervention!
I would love to buy our block of rural land this year. It won't happen while I am not working but I can wish, and keep an eye on the paper.
ReplyDeleteYou are so in the right place with this, Cathy! I am learning (through the Mondo Beyondo process) that my dream list is not necessarily a To Do list. That there is a time for starting things and fixing things and finishing things... then there is a time for "putting it out there" as you say, and trusting that what you need will come to you at the right time.
ReplyDeleteI have so many dreams and wishes, but I will offer a very special one as I like the idea of you being its guardian angel! I wish that the collection of words that I wrote on a topic dear to my heart last year is given the chance to evolve into something concrete and cohesive and beautiful and true. And that it is published and many kindred spirits have the chance to read it, and that it brings them comfort when they need it most.
Oh, what's in a list?? I make sure my lists are sliding lists as thing get added & priorities updated. At least you have a list, most people wing it & wonder why nothing gets done. Me, i'm a planner & make lists as i have to live the life of 6 people. I didn't get a fraction of what i acheive in a day now, when i was a single teen with few cares. I think it's just all forced on me & people won't get fed, athletics or educated if i don't stay organised. Love Posie
ReplyDeleteLists ARE good....I am definitely a list person, and there's lots on it this year. Bit like Lara not so good at the being realistic and achievable bit. But my one wish is to get our house organised....clear out the clutter, make everything tidy and have some time to enjoy it! There....you are now my 'wish keeper'.
ReplyDeleteLists are powerful things, motivators and reminders. I used to use them a lot and now that I need them I use them less, go figure!! My wish for this year is to sort out our house, it's madness and it always comes in last after all of the everyday stuff. So by the end of the year I want it to be sorted.
ReplyDeleteI put some goals in my blog for 2010. However, lately I've been doing a lot of positive thinking (so much to be said for positive thinking!) and thinking about what I'd like to see change in my life. The big thing is to spend more time trying to find my life partner. I've been alone for a while since my last partner and I know the right man must be out there somewhere. I just need to spend more time looking. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI wish I would finish my sweater.
ReplyDeleteYou go for it Cathy,
ReplyDeleteDream big, it’s all possible! Now my dreams and wishes for 2010????
Get this Etsy adventure off the ground – underway
Sell lots of paintings
Build and move into our new home – the land should be ours in the next couple of weeks
Find a bit more balance
Make time and space to paint again
Improve my skills so I make better use of my beautiful camera
Oh, that collage is beautiful! :-) I recognised the CurlyPops touch too... Love your idea of your list being so many different things. I don't make resolutions but on 1st January I made a list of aims, goals, ideas and wishes which I guess is similar to what you've done :-) Please could you keep this wish for me? I wish so hard that this year we make the right decisions about which secondary school my son should apply for. Thank you xx
ReplyDeletei love your mondo beyondo list!
ReplyDeleteone of my wishes just came true actually.
i used to work at a ski resort in college.
i LOVE to ski, but i've raised my family in the desert of arizona...not much skiing.
over the holidays, i was able to see ALL 5 of my children on skis and swooshin down the hill all at the same time.
it was euphoric for me.
a honest dream come true.
i'm gonna keep thinking though,
good question.
great collage!
see you soon.
c
i will leave a wish for you to keep for me here:
ReplyDeletei wish to bust through my fears/biases of financial wealth and earn MORE than $30k for ONCE in my life!! it's time for me to end my own "poverty mentality"!!
time for me to 'create new truths', right, my friend?!? thank you for being the keeper of this wish =-)
I decided I’d come back and make a wish anyway … to explore more this year. Explore in the widest possible sense: explore the boundaries of my world and push them, explore where my creativity takes me … and plain old explore what I want my future to look like. I can’t wait to take this thought out in a year and dust it off to see the journey.
ReplyDeleteI wish to finally graduate from my masters course this year, to obtain my PR so I can stay on in this amazing country.. and wish that my little jewellery business will go upwards instead of downwards!
ReplyDeleteHopefully this time next year, all of this will have become reality!
Cathy, I love listing things too. My 'to dos' and small tangible goals get all mixed in with my big sweeping dreams and plans, much like yours, and I like it like that. Although I have started to separate them out a bit more. I guess in many ways I don't 'wish' so much as pray, and this year my prayer is that I'll be a more contented and mindful mother and wife. In lots of ways my other goals (even my creative ones) feed into this overarching goal.
ReplyDeletePS I have the BEST book to help you with weight loss and it'll be right up your alley, I promise!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Lose-Weight-Without-Dieting/dp/027371340X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195512621&sr=8-1
It'll set you free. Since I read it in November I've lost 10kg (very intuitively and without deprivation or unsustainable exercise/diet changes). READ THIS BOOK. I'll be blogging about it at some point... I'd like to lose another 4-5 and I know it'll come off and stay off.
I'm a great lover of lists! I had a flatmate once, a very dear friend, who hated lists, but after living with me for a year, she loved them :)
ReplyDeleteMy wish? A wish for a healthy family :)
And the collage is gorgeous!
I am definitely a list maker. I would never get anything done if I didn't write the things down that need doing. Once they are on paper I can decide which ones need to be done first, next, last, or not at all. I feel so much more in control if I make a list.
ReplyDeleteMy wish is that I would get a book published.
Hi Cathy, I have several wishes that I will let you keep for me!
ReplyDelete1. I am wishing for the power and strength to give myself time to focus on myself so that I am healthier from the inside out.
2. I wish for more rest and relaxation in 2010.
3. I am wishing to get past being such a "beginner" at art.
4. I am wishing to make paintings I love to hang on my walls at home.
5. Oh, and one small one, I am wishing I could find a nice color to paint my bedroom! Something soothing, romantic, and something that matches the grey comforter than I feel in love with. ;)
Lorrie (Mrs. Spotts)
May I entrust the wish for more energy to your care? I know you will look after it and keep it safe.
ReplyDeleteL x
Lists ARE good. And including some dreams on them is a good thing too. Hopefully they remind us to look up and towards the horizon when we're feeling bogged down by the mundane itty bitty tasks that need to be done every day. It's good to stop looking at our (my) toes from time to time!
ReplyDeleteIt's past the deadline, but I love the idea of you being my wishkeeper and perhaps stating a wish here will help me let go of the disappointment I'm feeling at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI've got a great many wishes for the year, but there is one I really need to come true: to find a place to call home in the city to which I want to return to, for that place to feel like and become home and for the move back to go smoothly.