Existential Examen - Day 1

 I've not posted here all year (😉) because...well...I've been on a deep dive -- exploring myself.  I've been cozying up with Annie Grace at The Naked Mind and her Alcohol Experiment, with Dr. Gabor Mate and his The Myth of Normal, and Dr. Brene Brown and her The Gifts of Imperfection.  

My journal is full of all the notes I've been taking.  I've also been taking long walks, and doing 1/2-hour stretching sessions for 70-somethings through Essentrics online programs.

Yes, I've been making.  Three art pieces are finished and need to be photographed as part of the documentation for Art in the Park.  The first of a series of wool hats for those in need has been finished, and a second is under construction.  Most of the samplers are farther along than they were in my last post, and my friend got her birthday pillow on time. 😊

Over the last three weeks, I've come to a conclusion about where I am and what I've been doing to myself for a couple of decades now: 

change is required!

I won't go into the gory details, but the way I've been trying to cope with the fall-out from great loss and traumatic life events hasn't been working. So...the first wee change I'm introducing is a more intentional expression of gratitude on a daily basis, starting today.  I am planning daily posts for the indefinite future -- here and linked to my FB page.

Today I am grateful for a new day!

May the road rise up to meet you;

may the wind be always at your back --

and until we meet again, 

may the good Lord hold you in the palm of her hand.