Starting with Intention & Purpose

I like what Lara Casey wrote repeatedly in her goal setting series, “There is nothing magical about January 1st.”

Any day can be your new day – your January 1st.

So that’s what I did.

January was both so slow and busy. The great kind of busy that denotes fulfillment and happiness and good feelings. Unlike the previous years when I hit January running with all these crazy high goals and neverending to-do lists, I made the choice to focus on one thing alone: reconnecting with my faith and taking active steps to nourish it.

That involved saying a lot of No’s and being very picky with what I say Yes to.

That can be hard for someone like me who tends to spread herself very thin and accept opportunities all the time.

So for January I said No to:

• Social gatherings. I wanted to focus on family and be mindful of what is working with our setup and what isn’t. That meant me being passive and observant and asking a lot of questions all the time – to my husband particularly. And a lot of talking with my kids – just the casual kind (the kind where they don’t feel like they are being interviewed).
• Busy. This is hard for someone like me who needs to work to make ends meet. As a freelancer you tend to grab opportunities first without thinking about it for the long run. I scaled down a few of my freelance gigs and focused on getting better with my current ones.

But I said Yes to:

• HIM. It’s been my “goal” to start going to vigil adoration again and going to mass daily. I hit those goals this month. This is what I’m most pleased with myself about. I want to serve and do more. There comes a time that praying isn’t enough for one’s faith. That’s what’s happening to me right now, I feel. This is something personal and raw and fresh that I can’t put it in words right now.

How do I want February to look like?

(I wrote this down in my Moleskine while away from the computer and decided to share it here.)

I want it to be intentional, filled with meaningful family time and connection with my husband.

I want a break in time to feed my personal self through creative pursuits and reflective alone time.

I want to be able to get a handle on our finances and not be worried about provision.

I want to be focused and disciplined in my journey to wellness.

I want to continue seeking God and establishing my faith not only in my heart but also reflective in my words and actions.

If I would have to choose among all the goals I’ve set myself out this year, I’d want to have to continue our spiritual journey to Him again. I have come to learn how to easy it is to get off track at times, especially when it comes to matter of the soul.

We are in an environment where a sentiment can easily be shared in 140 characters, a status update or a share in group chats. The emotions can easily be caught on, opinions swayed, collective thoughts formed. That is how much we affect each other. But what about the deeper effect of things? When the mania is over, the discussions have ended and we are alone, what do we think about? Do we stop and pause to reflect what have affected us – what should we lean towards to thinking about more? Has it sunk down – truly gone deep? Has a seed been firmly planted on our soil?

For roots to grow it needs a healthy dose of sunshine, water — and space. Space to dig deep, spread, anchor itself to the ground and grow. This is what seems to be lacking in our digital overwhelm – space, more time to be alone – time to be disconnected and just be still. We need these snippets of alone time to gather our thoughts, weed out unnecessary ideas that can lead to unhealthy emotions and connect to our core. What’s our values? What do we want, at the end of the day, three years, five years from now? I feel that this is what we are struggling with right now.

It is alright that we live and focus in the now. We need to appreciate it, bask in it, accept what it gives and discern where it is taking us. But too often we stuff it with unnecessary things – emotions, wants, things, endless need to stay connected (the FOMO – fear of missing out) – that we tend to just live day by day, stuffing ourselves with the senseless and not with the important.

This is what I want my February to look like. I don’t want to be a hermit or even disconnect. I just want my healthy dose of alone time to reflect, dig deep, find my anchor – to grow.

There have been a lot of times when so many ideas fill my head that I forget what I am thinking or should be attending to right that moment. Oftentimes that would be a signal for me to get off the front of the computer, lay down and close my eyes, perhaps sleep.

That’s the plan for this month.

How about you?
How do you want your February to look like?