The Tenth One.

Morning,

Today's Heading: The "Resolution" Post.

I was speaking with my friend Brett about his resolution for this year, and he mentioned a new way of going about this tradition. His partner Annie over the last few years has been choosing three words to echo throughout her actions in the year, a sort of daily mantra that guides her in making decisions and choices. Think Live, Laugh, Love, only hopefully not trite like that. He has adopted this and chosen his own words to live by this year, and has inspired me to do the same. These words should be something deeply meaningful for you, pertain to what you want to accomplish in your life, and hopefully can be applied to most situations. I feel compelled to share mine with you, and encourage you to adopt your own words for 2020. (Share them with me in the comments!) Since I am extra about everything, I have chosen to add three things to focus on within the broader word. Those will be listed as a caption under the photo.

Elevate, Promote, Engage.

Empower.

Every day we see people going out of their way to silence, police, stifle, and belittle others. Worse than this, most of us are likely guilty of these actions ourselves, no matter how small. It could mean that in a particular moment you chose to do/say nothing at all. Nothing for you personally, nothing for your friends and family, or fellow human beings. This is a particularly important year to liberate ourselves and our neighbors from fear. We need to go beyond encouragement and truly fill each other with confidence, passion, fire- because only then will we feel compelled to make powerful choices.
It can't be a "You Could" in 2020, it needs to be a "You Will. You ARE." You will sit down and write that next chapter in your book, you will get out and vote for a leader and not a tyrant, you are worthy of the compliments and love that you receive. Women supporting and propelling women, white people defending and promoting people of color, men holding themselves and their brothers to higher standards in how they treat women in this world. Lift each other in ways big and small- and know that you can, that your words mean something and will elicit change in this world...but you have to use them.

Captivate, Exercise, Travel.

Move.

This goal is huge for me, and I want to move in every sense of the word. In the figurative sense, want to elicit deep feelings and emotions in those I care about. Writing more, whether that means blogs, poems, or stories, is the most common way I plan to tackle this. However, we can move the people we love simply by sitting with them in comfortable silence in a moment of need, or surrounding them with song. I really just want to do my best to ensure that people are taking regular moments to invite unfiltered emotion into their lives.
In the literal sense of the word, I want to get back to exercising- run, dance, chase my children. I also want to travel, near and far. Our bodies are meant to carry us places, and the less we move them the less they are able to move. The less we emote, the less we are able to feel and process emotions.

Strengthen, Reinforce, Protect.

 Fortify.

I'm sure you're thinking that this is in direct opposition to my last goal, but hear me out. We spend time and invest emotions into people, hobbies, or even work, only to leave those relationships vulnerable. New friendships or partnerships ignite, only we don't add logs to the kindling. We buy new art supplies, try them once, and bury them in a drawer. We jog one day, call it good, and don't jog again for two months.
It isn't enough to simply have connections or hobbies, you have to cultivate them into something meaningful, strengthen them so they don't crumble under the weight of the first inconvenience.
I want to take the time this year to focus on building up the foundations I've mapped, old and new. Just because someone has been in my life for a long time doesn't mean I have made meaningful strides in building real connections there, and I want to. I also want to reinforce ideals and traits in myself that I haven't worked hard enough on- patience, understanding, etc.

So there you have it! Three concepts for how I want to approach my year. Again, I encourage you to choose your own mantra and share it with me if you feel inclined.

I hope you've enjoyed this stuff, and come back for more things.