To Discover New Possibilities, Be Open to them.
By Christy Aikhorin 13/01/2022
I have been rather congested with so many scattered thoughts flowing through my mind, about last year, what will the year 2022 bring, will the lockdown be lifted, how do I set my goals to align with my intent of the year....bla bla bla, I had no cohesive flow of words for a while but today as I stepped into the stillness of a church on Parkstaat, The Hague there came an outpouring of words, that stood out in sharp contrast and so here goes my very first blog of the year, a year that began with a lock down due to Covid-19, though we are in 2022!
New Year, New Resolutions.... Really???
The typical thing at the begining of a year seems to be to establish some new resolutions, new goals and targets, which to be honest, I find rather tedious, some what boring and to say the least, unmotivating, wondering why focus is not rather given to being thankful for welcoming a new year and inspired by the lessons acquired from the previous year.
And then I read Lana Jelenjev article on Intentions setting and thought, well that is more like it, deep yet practical and yes, much more revigorating for an "INTENTION is a guiding principle on how you want to live, show up, make yourself be visible".
So, How Do You Want to Live, Show up & Be Visible?
Lana recommends focusing on one word intention with the above question in mind. So sitting in the quiet of the church on Parkstraat, which is where this blog was mentally crafted, I reflected on my one word intention for 2022.
Okay, I have to cheat here as one word will not cover my intentions for 2022 given the abundant lessons I acquired from my experiences and encounters of 2021 plus of course all the years before that, when I consciously decided to be intentional about living, which led to the creation of UnikBlends.
After all life is not stagnant but Alive and Dynamic, always in a constant flux of change and movement, a continuous interplay of Reframing, Rediscovering and Reinventing. And we can't afford to be left behind by all these motions and happenings in life or worse, waste it by not accepting reality (I know it is easier written than said, which in turn is easier than done) but complaining or rebelling the difficult occurrences, which are a fact of life, will not grant you the means to see and engage in new possibilities, new adventures.
And so my 'one word' intention for 2022 is Creative-Courage; a type of courage that is forged from unlearning conventional paths for it embraces difference blended with indigenous wisdom as it seeks to yield uniqueness through sustainable practices.
This is precisely how I wish to live, show up and be seen.
Now, its your turn. What is your one word intention for the year?
Go for Goals Made with Intention
In the silence of an almost empty church, I sat exploring the areas of life where I need creative courage to make way for contributions and change, change that maximises my limited time and energy allowing for unique collaborations, educative conversations and sustainable creations through which people can flourish individually as well as collectively.
And with ease, calm and clarity, goals that align with my above mentioned intention emerged. They are themed as follows:
Joyful Movement to stay healthy & fit by training for +10km races
Play with Words to up my game in the Dutch language, after all I live in Netherlands
Dance with Colours to improve my slow clothing techniques, for like cooking healthy meals, it is an essential skill.
If you are struggling with the whole idea of goal setting, I can relate.
Start slow and feel free to consider my approach:
Find a quiet spot to reflect, take along with you some lessons from previous years.
If being alone is not your thing, consider having a thinking partner, who listens to you, allowing you think for yourself because you can.
Then engage in a creative activity that helps to slow the mind, allowing your thoughts catch up with your head and heart.
