Here we go – let the good times begin! My new year is off to an auspicous beginning.

First of all, steps. My average for the week is – drum roll – 7,013!! My goal has been 7,000 for a long time, but I think this is the first time I’ve actually hit it. My high was 10,566 on January 1, which was a beach day. My low was 4,067 yesterday, when I spent 12 hours hunched over my computer.

I started a 30-Day Yoga challenge and have completed the first two days. One of the women who’s in my coaching program started a group for us, and I got my daughter to agree to do it with me. If you didn’t know me, you might think I was real into yoga, because I’m quick to talk about the benefits – but not from experience. This is the first time I’ve actually done yoga. So far so good…

But this is NOT me:

In other news, I’m also doing a mindfulness challenge that another friend invited me to. It starts on the 7th and I think it’s going to be something I can do. We’ll see.

I’m not setting goals anymore. I’m going with intentions instead. I know, that’s become a buzzword, and maybe it’s silly, but it seems to be working better for me. I’ve begun to start my day with the Prayer to the Six Directions, which I’ve been thinking about for a while. There are lots of versions of it, but the one I’m using goes like this:

Prayer to the Six Directions

Oh Spirit of the East, Land of the rising Sun, Of Air, the winds that blow across the lands. Of new beginnings each day. and of open horizons. We bless you and ask for your wisdom and blessing here with us today. Please join us, Spirit of the East.
Oh Spirit of the South, Place of Passion, Fire and Creation and inspiration, whose warm breath reminds us of summer days. Ignite our hearts with love. We bless you and ask for your wisdom and blessing here with us today. Please join us, Spirit of the South.
Oh Spirit of the West, the land of the setting Sun, Of water and Autumn’s whisper. Bless us with the knowledge of peace which follows the harvest of a fruitful life. We bless you and ask for your wisdom and blessing here today. Please join us, Spirit of the West.
Oh Spirit of the North, place of quiet, stillness, of cave and deep earth. Place of thankfulness for the knowledge and blessings that have come to us with time. We bless you and ask your wisdom and blessing here today. Please join us, Spirit of the North.
Oh Spirit of Mother Earth, you support us each day, welcoming our roots deep into your heart. You nurture and guide us finding sustenance and support. help us to give thanks Always for Your bounty. We bless you and ask for your wisdom and blessing here today. Please join us Spirit of Mother Earth.
Oh Spirit of Father Sky, of the angelic realms, the countless stars of the night remind us that you are vast beautiful and majestic beyond all of our knowing or understanding. Your light shines upon the earth both day and night guiding our steps. We bless you and ask for your wisdom and blessing here today. Please join us, Father Sky.
Oh Spirit of our souls within, Place of union, love and reverence. We are grateful for this gift of life and for the love that guides our way. We open our hearts and join with all in love. It is begun.

I turn in each direction as I pray (I used the compass on my phone to find the direction!) I touch the ground for Mother Earth, raise my arms for Father Sky, and put my hand on my heart for the “souls within” part. We have a big privacy fence in our backyard, so when it’s warm, I go outside to do it.

I haven’t done it every day since I started, but I’m ok with that. It’s not a goal I’ve failed to meet, it’s just a plan that doesn’t necessarily work out every day. We’ll see how this goes…

I’ve done Qi-gong a few days too. I use this video: https://youtu.be/cwlvTcWR3Gs and am really liking it. Let me know what you think if you try it!

Ok, so Happy New Year to all of you – ready for another exciting year that may bring who-knows-what!

“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure. Life is like that. We don’t know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don’t know.”
— Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times