Filling Up My Life with Stories not Stuff.

This has been in my drafts since November of last year. The line (and the post) spoke volumes to me – so much that I decided to slow down and savor the season, focusing on relationships and connections and trying not to immerse myself with too much holiday commercialism.

(I need to go out and say that this didn’t exactly work as we still gave gifts to people we love. But we definitely took a step back and just slowed down and relaxed – no last-minute shopping trips to the malls or frenzied wrapping of last-minute gifts).

I am choosing to extend this mantra this year, taking an active role in living a life filled with stories and making sure I write/tell/document it down.

Cut down.

I am currently in a throw-give-sell phase in my decluttering project around the house. I am quite consistent in doing this every three months (and sell them in ukay ukay) so I can gauge what needs to be replaced, added or modified around the house. Each and everytime I am amazed how much we can come up with too much (paid with hard-earned and never enough money I might add!) JUNK! And what’s even harder to admit is I still have a hard time letting some things go. (I really don’t need those bags I haven’t used in years, have I?) This is a habit I need to learn – not to get too attached to things.

Simplify wants.

At the beginning of the year I was on a “I WANT IT GOTTA HAVE IT!” phase with art materials. I wrote some specific creative goals this year and one of them was to learn how to do lettering and doodles (more about this in future posts). I have reached my max capacity on spending on them though – and have put myself on a spending freeze until I can save enough money to get a new shelf, workstation and better storage containers for all my “schtuff”. Really now. I need to simplify my wants (there’s just too many right now, haha).

Focus on making stories.

Instead of buying those pens, I’d focus on making doodles and having arts & crafts sessions with my daughter. Surely, we can work around with “just” rainbow colors (and not need those glitter pens and pastels right?! haha – see – those are wants) and come up with nice enough word art for us right? This year I want it to be more about connections and relationships, not just accomplishments and acquisitions.

Tell more stories.

One thing I’ve noticed severely lacking from albums lately are the stories. Stories like this and this. The Right Now. My feelings. I’ve taken a more narrative approach when it comes to telling family stories and while that is OK and needed, I’ve missed pouring out my heart on pages. I’m going to be more intentional about it this year.

What’s your mantra for the year? Like my one little word, this is my guidepost – my light – towards living life meaningfully and intentionally for 2015. Care to share yours?

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Aggie Aviso

Aggie Aviso describes herself as her family’s storyteller and memory keeper. A mom to two kids ages 14 and 8, she is certainly past the age of sleepless nights and adorable pigtails. However, motherhood stays exciting, more meaningful and yes, more challenging. She takes it all in stride, knowing fully well that moments pass by in a blink of an eye. As Gretchen Rubin famously said, “The days are long, but the years are short.” She has discovered how wonderful it is to have those fleeting moments in time documented in their family books and has made it her personal mission and passion to be able to tell their stories for her future grandkids. You can read more about her here.. Subscribe to blog updates and the occasional letter here.

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