Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, dear readers.

I hope you had a joyful festive season and are ready for whatever 2012 has to offer.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not really one for New Year Resolutions. I tend to favour ‘resolve’. And I like to have a general theme that will be driving my actions throughout the year.

This year it’s all about balance for me. A work / life balance. A homely / organised balance. A Mum / Wife / Me balance. A serve others / take care of me balance. A walk up the hill even though I don’t feel like it / chill in front of the fire balance.

You get the picture.

My intentions are to continue decluttering; it feels more and more liberating the more stuff I shift. I have a vision in my mind of how my home will look, how I will feel, what it will sound like, smell like and it lures me more and more.

I’m learning to do this with my hoarding husband close behind. So in amongst my desire for balance will come tolerance, compassion and compromise.

In order to achieve a work / life balance I feel one has to look at the family budget. The more things you ‘need’ (aka ‘want’ in most instances) the more money is needed to support these desires. So I’m seeking more simplicity.

The first thing I’m going to do is a no-spend month. I’ve greatly admired those who have done it but I’ve always failed. I’ve always fallen prey to my desires and wants but now I feel ready to succeed.

I will be buying essentials – to me that means fuel for the car, paying the bills and buying food; but even two out of three of those necessities can be reduced.

I’ll be digging into the freezer and pulling out the UFO (unidentified frozen objects), opening jars of preserved foods, eating up dried fruits and rummaging through tins long forgotten.

After school clubs will not be in full swing for another week or two so we can reduce the amount of travelling we do by shopping in bulk whenever we top up.

Overall I feel a sense of calmness descending upon me. I recognise my tendency towards stress. I cannot remember the last time I fell asleep in under two hours or stayed asleep for more than four. My mind appears not to switch off and I’m always planning for the future or going over the events of the past. I’m addicted to ‘busy ness’ and it’s an addiction I want to break for it does little to serve me.

Trying to bring my monkey mind into the present moment is no simple task, so tolerance, compassion and compromise will be my allies once again. Beating oneself up does little except cause pain. I talk to myself and treat myself in ways I would never talk to another, so it’s time for some unconditional parenting of Self too. I feel that once I master this I can achieve my goals. All the while my inner critic needs reasons to berate myself, not achieving the balance provides the perfect tools with which to flagellate myself.

I can see it, make left-brained sense of it all and have self awareness, but where to go with the knowledge is my quest…

What about you – what does 2012 look like for you?