Unconditional Hope

December 31 – Core Story. What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world? (Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month. Look through them to discover a thread you may not have noticed until today.)

At the core of me is simply unconditional hope. I’m not sure where in my life hope became such a central part of my core being but I pretty much live and breathe it. I have hope in others, even when they don’t have any in themselves, I have hope in myself – that I can be better & do better and I have hope that the best is yet to come.

Sometimes I think hope has manifested in my heart specifically to share it with others. As I watch friends and family go through the ups and downs of life, I love when they come to me to talk about it. It gives me the opportunity to try and put hope in their hearts and even if they can’t find hope in the situation, I know that I have enough hope for the both of us.

I have to confess though, before Reverb10, I had lost a little hope in my writing abilities. I started this project on a bit of a whim - the concept was intriguing and I definitely always love a good challenge. I had put an end to my blog a few months prior, and I really closed myself off from writing in general. But as time went on, and I was presented with more and more prompts, I realize Reverb10 has given me the desire to write again. Hope has been restored in my writing capabilities and for that, I am truly grateful.

Happy New Year and thank you, Reverb10!

Do or Think: What I Will Accomplish in 2011

December 28 – Achieve. What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think, in order to experience that feeling today.

I've been on a bit of a running kick the past few months but lately, I've been struggling a bit with wanting to go and struggling to get past the 3 mile mark. Right now, the thing I want to achieve MOST next year is running the Winter Park 10K at the end of March. I know to some, 6.2 miles may not seem like a lot but considering 5K's were a huge deal before, I'm excited that I'm even attempted to take the next step up.

There is something about seeing the finish line when running this events. It doesn't matter how much you walked or struggled to get to that point, when you see all those faces lined up on the side, people clapping for you that you don't even know, it's a rush. It's a pure moment of complete accomplishment & happiness. I'm sure I'll also feel like I want to vomit but that's besides the point.

10 things I can do or think to accomplish this?

1. Do: Continue training & pushing myself to go further
2. Do: Find other locations to run besides the gym. I think I'm officially burnt out of running in place.
3. Do: Eat healthy. I'm not gonna go anywhere if I don't put good things in my body.
   
4. Do: Continue strength training. I can't lose site of making my muscles stronger because in the end, I need that to help me be a successful runner.
   
5. Do: Take care of my body. Re: Sleep, stretch, relax
6. Think: Positively. Sometimes I feel like mental thoughts outweigh the actual physical part of running. Gotta stay in a positive mental attitude.
7. Think: I can do it. If I don't believe in myself, why should anyone else?
   
8. Think: Don't kill yourself. Sometimes I get so caught up when I put my mind to something but I have to listen to my body and rest when it tells me to rest. I would like to achieve this, not kill myself in the process.
9. Think: All great things are accomplished by hard work. I can't expect to just run the 6.2 miles without working hard at it. Need to remind myself that all good things come alongside hard work.
10. Think: I am a runner. Sometimes, I don't think I'm a runner because I don't run half marathons and marathons but you know what? I run 3-4 times a week. That makes me a runner. I need to believe that.
    

Looking forward to March & looking forward to achieving this little dream of mine.

Ordinary Moments

December 27 – Ordinary Joy Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

Just so you know, I know I skipped a day. The 26th was asking about what food touched your soul. I love food, but no food touches me that deeply so I moved on. :)

When I think about this prompt, one moment specifically comes to mind. I had trucked up to Gainesville - for what I'm not really sure - but nonetheless, I was visiting my Mom & Dad. We had gone to Publix to pick up dinner and whatever else we could find for the evening. Anything from sangria to cheese to chips. We finally got back to the house, prepared the sangria and a couple trays of food, and headed downstairs to our family room to kick back and watch the Magic game.

Now, my Mom is not really one to say, "hey I really want to watch that ____ (pick any sporting event) today!" but she will definitely try her best to stay "in the know" about your teams and she'll most certainly watch with you. (I love that about her.) Anyway, I was sitting in one recliner, my Mom in the other, and my Dad was laying down on the couch and it just kind of realized that I live for those small moments of doing, well...nothing.

Remember when you were a kid and you were totally embarrassed to be even associated with your parents? Well, maybe you weren't but I kind of always was. (Sorry, Mom & Dad.) It wasn't "cool" to stay home and chill with your parents but strangely enough, as I get older, I crave that time with my parents. I want to just sit on the couch with them and tell stories about our day, help out in the kitchen or with little chores, or just snuggle up with my Mom and let her rub my hair. Those are the moments I think I will always remember. Those are the moments when I'm proud of who I call Mom and Dad because not only do I think they are pretty awesome but I know that I'm lucky to have them at all.

Pose for the Camera

December 25th: Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
When we were in San Francisco, all I wanted to do was rent bikes and sing "In the Summertime" by Jerry Mungo. So, we did. We got bikes down at Fisherman's Wharf and biked all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, over the bridge, and down to Sausalito. This picture was taken by a complete stranger on the very first take. We couldn't believe it ourselves. Absolute perfection!

I think this image reveals a few different things about me. I think it shows being fun & adventurous, as well someone who follows their dreams. If you read in my post about traveling, I've wanted to go to California my entire life and I finally made it happen.

It's not just about who I am currently, but it will be a constant reminder to never let my dreams go, be more adventurous, and do absolutely everything I can to live my life & not hold back.

Everything's Gonna Be Alright

December 24 Prompt – Everything’s OK. What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

Not to beat a dead horse, but honestly the best moment of 2010 that showed me everything is going to be alright was when I got my new job. There were plenty of times that I questioned why things weren't happening right when I wanted to. It feels like the right moment to me at that specific time, but I realize now that there are so many other pieces that have to fall into place before the silver lining comes to show its face.

I think the best way to incorporate this discovery in the year ahead is to try to remind myself when things are tough, that the universe is out there, moving things around & working its magic to make things "alright." And even though it might not happen when I specifically want it to happen, doesn't mean that it won't happen. It just means that there are other things in the works.