Opportunities await!

The beginning of a New Year always finds me reflecting on the past year, as well as, looking forward to the possibilities of the New Year.  I spent the last few days considering what I want to accomplish this year.  Some goals are a given….make enough money to keep my home, cover expenses & bills, and have a bit left over for taxes.  As necessary as these things are, I have another pressing need.  I need to stretch and feed my creativity.  I am not alone in this need.  We all need to create in some fashion in order to maintain a zeal for living.  Those that prioritize being creative to the bottom of the “To Do” list, soon find themselves lost in gloom, drudgery, and acute unhappiness.

Being creative could be as simple as reading a new book, going to a new movie, or visiting a museum.  There are those of us that are a bit more hands-on and need to experience creativity in a kinesthetic fashion; we need to touch, see, smell, hear, and yes taste.  We don’t necessarily need to experience all these senses during each creative experiment, but in general we need to experience all of them on a regular basis to stretch our creativity.  I love to make things I never have before or try things I have not done.  Not all of my experiments are 100 percent successful attempts but the act of the experience always is!

This year I am going to make a list of 12 things I want to make or attempt, one per month.  I added making ravioli to my list because while I make egg noodles frequently, I have not attempted ravioli and I love to eat it.  Not sure what else will find itself on the list just yet but the month is still young. I start many seeds in my greenhouse each year to transplant to the garden and yard, and this year, I might try a new seed variety that catches my eye.  I might try my hand at learning to knit, or renew my commitment to learning the guitar, or finishing my first ebook.  I might read a book a month, or commit to socializing once a month.  The choices are limitless; as limitless as my creativity allows.

Why don’t you place stretching your creativity to the top of the priority list this year and designate your own set of adventures on paper.  Don’t just write them down; do them one by one and see where you are next year at this time.  My guess is next year’s list will write itself;  having experienced the joy and accomplishment of simple pleasures this year.