Thursday, January 13, 2011
Last Sunday my daughter and I went for a ski and then came home and hung out in the kitchen for a couple of hours cooking and chitchatting. We had our favourite Sunday afternoon radio show on, Afternoon Delight, on Canoe FM.
My friend Sue was hosting and she always great to listen to. After the third or fourth song Sue told her listening audience that one of her goals for 2011 was to find/ discover some new music (new to her). She said it is always easy to listen to the same thing and you start to think that is all there is. It's like looking in the clothes closet and always seeing the same old things. 2011 was going to be a time to branch out. Sue went on to then share her new musical discovery for January who is Jake Shimabukuro, an incredible ukelele player. You can google him and look for a you tube clip of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", or you download his newest cd "Peace Love and Ukelele". We listened to a piece by him and it was fantastic. What a great thing to learn about while cooking dinner!
I've been thinking about Sue's goal for herself and how much fun she will have as she focuses on find new music for a year. I always love to be a guest at her house for dinner for many reasons - but one is that she (and Thom) always plays great music. It will only get greater.
Personally, I created an intention for myself for the year. Yogi's use "intentions" as a way of setting a big picture for themselves - something to work towards without attachment to the outcome. My intention for 2011 has been to "foster a deep sense of inner contentment." For me this relates to being content with many different aspects of my life (being content with my husband, our home, the work that I do, my daughter etc). We all have our "habits" that do not help us, and one of my habits is to often wish that I had more, was more, did more etc. Living that way can be exhausting. Someone said to me recently that contentment is a corner stone to happiness. Wanting what we have, instead of having what we want. I'm turning 50 this year and I realize that I have been wishing my body, my face (ie wrinkles), my energy level etc was different than what it is. The truth is that I am very active and healthy and my body is changing as I age. I can either resist the process and create tension or give into it and accept what is. Foster contentment. So, as I enter the second month of the year I keep reminding myself on a regular basis about my commitment to contentment. It will be interesting to see how mine and Sue's lives are different after a year of focusing on our goals/ intentions. I'm sure it will all be good!