How to Be

There are many ways, I suppose,

that one can actually embrace a new year

and truly make it "new."

I guess hurling firecrackers at it

or eating at a buffet stocked with enough food for 365 days

would be two possible approaches.

The first leads to wheezing, though,

while the second leads to heartburn -- trust me on that.

I'm actually feeling most hopeful about the year ahead

thanks to the layouts that I've been working on over the past week.

A few days ago, I created a layout about resolutions,

which helped me to really define what it might mean

to achieve a greater balance in my life.

It reminded me of what my principal likes to remind us of frequently --

our very lives are prayers. We lift them up as prayers.

Then yesterday, on the very first day of the new year,

I found myself standing at the kitchen sink

when a thought popped into my head:

I spend too much time focused on becoming rather than being.

By the end of the night, thanks to

Steph and Nik's challenge on the Studio Calico blog,

I created a layout that helped me to clarify and shift my way of thinking

about what it means for me to "be" truly present in my own life.

Here's to fresh starts, and happy scrapping in the year to come!