Reflections of 2012

Reflections of 2011 seemed easier as so many things changed in big ways last year.  This year was the opposite.  Though I’ve continued to learn and grow over the past year things stayed mostly the same and I am surprisingly comfortable with this fact.  I am excited going into 2013, I feel energized and settled and whole.  I am open to what it holds for me, the potential.  I feel ready now for things that I’ve wanted for so long that I was (probably) never ready for in the past.  Maybe it took a new beginning, a fresh start or perhaps I’ve only just now found the place that I feel I belong to.  Perth doesn’t feel temporary like Toronto and even Vancouver did.  It feels like home.

And so, my reflections on 2012 should to start with looking back on what I wanted when the year started.

I want to fall in love... truly, with someone who is willing to fall in love back…  I want a life, independent and entwined with someone else… Someone who challenges me and makes me better and gets that and more in return - someone willing to let all that in... "to be passionately in love with the present instead of hopelessly infatuated with the idea of the future"

Love has started to catch me by surprise this year.  It’s no longer scary to me even while I start to fall in love with a boy who might possibly never love me back.  In the past I would have been terrified of this (I still am a little) but where I once would have held back out of fear of being left behind I now realize that opening my heart to love doesn’t make me lose control but rather  allows me full expression of my feelings, my choices, independent of any outside influence.  Being able to love without expectation is freeing in ways I never would have imagined.  In letting go of an assumed outcome I’ve been surprised at how open my heart can be.  I am conscious of the many moments that make my heart unguardedly swell with love, they don’t look like what I thought they would – they are simple and pure and innocent.  Random. Warm and honest and real.  No judgments and definitely no expectation. 

While I haven’t fallen fully in love in 2012 I am so much closer to it than I ever have been and I’m hopeful.  I believe in myself now, I’ve learned that this year.  I know I deserve (romantic) love in its most open and honest form and that it will happen, naturally, in time.  With patience.  And I’m sure it will surprise me too.  I have also opened my eyes to the love that surrounds me every day.  Family and friends, moments, connections.  It all looks different but still, I see it everywhere.  It’s humbling and satisfying and really what life is ultimately about.

I want to travel... far and wide, exploring all corners of this world we live in - savoring the experiences - the culture and language, the pace and customs...

I really didn’t do much travel in 2012.  There was a brief long weekend down south with my parents and Justyn but that seemed all too brief.  There was the month spent back in North America but that felt all too familiar though was amazing to reconnect with old friends.  Most of 2012 was just spent living, being.  Finding happiness in the everyday rather than the bigger trips.  I do want to see more of the world but I don’t feel the need to constantly be on a plane, perhaps because everything is so much farther away from Perth.  I am happy where I am in this moment.

I don't want roots... I want freedom to roam, to pack up my (meager) belongings and relocate to another city, country, continent... and I want to be with someone who shares this craving - so many places to know, to discover... places that become part of me.  Australia, South and Central America... "passport stamps as adequate stand-ins for a mortgage"

This one has definitely changed for me.  I’m not sure I can adequately express my feelings on it as they are in a bit of flux right now but I can see the value of roots.  Of surrounding myself with a community of people who are passionate and supportive and open.  That feeling of connectedness, not to a place but more to the people in it.  I have that here and perhaps that’s why I feel more settled than I’ve ever been.  I have friends who truly want the best for me, without need for anything in return.  And they get that back, unconditionally.  Happiness for all.  There is no competition of who is the best – just acceptance that we’re all different and pushing to be the best selves we can be.  It’s inspiring and encouraging.  So while actually owning a house isn’t something I can wrap my head around, I now see the beauty in being in one place – as I start to think about a family of my own, of child(ren) it feels right.  A home base.  To come and go from - my yearning to travel, to see the world, will always exist - but to have roots, a community, a place to call home, to be connected to – I want that. 

I want a job that I love, that challenges me... and I want a pure outlet for my creativity, my writing.  I want to find focus rather than personal pieces that have no common theme or structure.  I'd love to write a book but I'm still unsure on what that would sound like.

This is truer than ever.  Though 2012 saw me lose my old job it didn’t sadden me at all.  In fact it strengthened my resolve to stay in Australia, pushed me to find a new one.  Is it my dream one?  No.  But it does challenge me and I am good at it and I do enjoy it most of the time.  For now, until I can make more sense of what it is that I do want it works for me.  I still struggle with the writing though and I do need to make this more of a priority.  I have a (mostly) crossfit blog that has gotten almost 15,000 page views now but I want to write more creatively.  Share my stories somehow, make them clearer and more relatable.   I want a bigger outlet for my creativity overall and I still need to make it a priority.

I want to continue my quest to be stronger, better.  Choosing the healthy and physical without sacrificing the wonderful... moderation. 

I aced this in 2012.  Early in the year it started with a three week strict paleo ‘diet’ that taught me that eating healthier isn’t all that hard and that moderation in all things is key.  I’ve gotten heaps stronger throughout the year though at times my mind still struggles to comprehend this (I’m working on that one now).  My body is in the best physical shape that it’s ever been in and overall my head is too.  I still enjoy being lazy (at times) and chocolate (at times) and alcohol too (at times) but my life no longer revolves around these things as it seemingly once did.  Instead I choose to connect with friends over workouts, playing and laughing and beaching.  I’m comfortable with who I am and for 2013 this will be a continuation, a constant state of being for the rest of my life.

2013

So what do I want from this year.  I have sat with this thought over the last few weeks and I can honestly say I don’t know.  I am happy.  Truly and fully happy.  Sure, shit happens but I bounce back from it better than I ever have – seeing the lessons, learning to change the story that I spin on things – seeing the positive over the negative, trusting in the good.  ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ somehow became my motto in 2012 – mostly focused around crossfit workouts but when applied to everything else has the same effect.  If the answer isn’t death or dismemberment then it probably isn’t all that bad and I’ll carry this with me into 2013.

I truly don’t want for anything right now – not in my immediate future.  I do want a family, child(ren) but I don’t feel the need to rush that, I trust that it will happen in time if I keep being open to it.  I want to continue to feed my happiness, surround myself with people I love, do things that make me smile, be open to new challenges, experience everything in each moment, be vulnerable, connected and communicate from my heart.  These things can’t be wrapped into measurable goals and so I’m not going to try. I’m just going to live.  Today.  One day at a time rather than waiting on the future.  “To be passionately in love with the present instead of hopelessly infatuated with the idea of the future”

2013-3

Love.  Being open and unafraid of it.  No expectations of it.  Just it.  Love.

Told someone I was falling in love with them today and it felt really good.  For no other reason that I got to share it.  Be vulnerable about and yet feel so safe in it.  Don't leave the words unsaid.

2013-2

Solo yoga by sunset on the front porch

2013-1

'Angie', 'Annie' and 'Grace' - 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 250 sit-ups, 100 squats, 150 double unders, 30 clean and jerks @ 45kg... numerous great friends, good bbq and surrounded by love and happiness... this year is going to kick ass!