52 weeks of blessings;

curves or corners?
minty or fruity gum?
sand or surf?
two or ten?
diamonds or pearls?
hot chocolate or hot cider?
roses or tulips?
observe or explore? Both, circumstances depending.
sweet or salty?
uniform, workout clothes or pjs? None. Jeans, chucks & T-shirt.
actor or director? Both, circumstances depending.
debit or credit card?
fiction or non-fiction? Both. Where good writing is concerned, don’t ask me to choose.
silk, wool, or cotton? wool
grammatical or mathematical error? Both. A puzzle’s a puzzle no matter the genre.
email or telephone?
movies or theatre?
uphill or downhill?
tent or trailer?
now or then? Both, circumstances depending.

For my “i have to plan everything down to the last detail” personality, this journal exercise was eye-opening. Despite knowing in my mind for the most part what I like and what I don’t like, having to choose quickly surprised even me. I know the goal is to pick one option or the other, but what was made clear is that choices are not always black and white. Sometimes they’re grey. Or red, or orange, or brown, or blue. Because we are unique, individual and complex.

No matter what the options or the choices, one thing remains: gratitude. Always.

Maybe realising those things is the real goal of this exercise. Hmmm ….

As I reflected on how I want to live and blog for 2015, I decided to try something new. Instead of my typical “Gratitude Sunday” post, I’ll be journaling my days in abandon and totally random. I’m a “list-er” and a planner, so this level of spontaneity is quite different for me. While I waited for the new year to ring in, I took some journal pages I’ve downloaded over the years and cut them up into very tiny bits. Not to worry, not losing my marbles! 😀

Each cut has a task, a prompt or two or three or four, a thought, a quote, an activity that I need to focus on or complete. In a conversation with a friend, previous to the cutting marathon, we were talking about ways to “create some happy” for our holidays. The phrase is really hers, but I’ve already told her I’m stealing it! LOLOL! I’ve decided that creating some happy shouldn’t be intentional just for my holidays, but consistently, the very way I live my daily life.

There are quite a few cuts in this journaling love-box and a few “out of my comfort zone” prompts so all I have to say about this is that it’s going to be an interesting ride!!! 😀

Let me get started then:

One:

book I’ve recently read: The Hunger Games. Although this trilogy has been around for a few years and I’ve seen the first two movies, the first installment of the book has been out of this world. The energy, symbolism, and the pace of the book surpasses the movie in leaps and bounds. I’m on the second book now and it’s been the same type of thrill ride.
place I’ve recently visited: The New York Public Library. It’s the one place that will get me leaving my house multiple times per week. I 100% agree with author Neil Gaiman “Libraries are our friends.”

source

movie I’ve recently watched: Albert Nobbs. A change in genre for me, this was a complex story of surviving, re-inventing, needing to express and receive authentic love (like everyone else). It’s a well-written, well executed movie and although I’m not a Glenn Close fan, she was phenomenal in this. I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say, how terrible it is that people can destroy or utterly change another person’s life by wicked, violent and/or selfish acts.