Project 2011: Mind, Body, Soul, Surroundings

I’m later to this party than I intended.  The month of January threw me a curveball with the loss of my beloved Ripley.  I’m not going to act as though I’ve recovered – I have not.  I have escaped into mindless pursuits, I have drunk more wine than even I find normal, and my outlook on life has swung wildly some days, moving from depression to anger in the blink of an eye or the click of a playlist.  The anger feels better.  At least somewhat productive.  And when I’m angry, I want to run.  That’s a nice pairing, actually.

But, though the human heart can go dark in our times of pain, life moves along with or without us.  In my later years, I have tried to live my life fully and with mindful presence -- not wishing away the time, realizing how precious every moment actually is.  And though I will admit freely to feeling buried in a well of grief more often than not right now, I know I cannot stay there.  I may fall back in from time to time, but I need to make the effort to climb out. 

So I’ve tweaked the half-finished “Project 2011” list that I began after the first of the year.  I decided to take what began as a list of disparate goals and organize them into themes.  What did I want for my life in 2011?  Where did I wish to focus?

I realized after thinking it through that my goals have aligned into the following themes:

• Mind:  Read, Learn, Write
• Body:  Be Healthy, Eat Well, Be Strong
• Soul:  Find Peace, Play, Enjoy
• Surroundings:  Be Comfortable, Be Calm

In the “Mind” category, I have goals such as “read history” and “learn to sail”.  The goals in this category are all about the sentient part of my existence - - exercising my brain, expanding my experiences, broadening my knowledge, and testing my point of view.

In the “Body” category, I have goals such as “nail a sub-30:00 5K”, “run another half-marathon”, and “learn to deep-dive (again)”.  This category is about the physical part of my existence – getting strong, enjoying the benefits that a healthy body has to offer, and testing the limits of my endurance.

In the “Soul” category, I have goals such as “devote one outdoor activity a month to music-less enjoyment of nature” and “take at least one vacation that lets me dive in the ocean”.  This category is about the spiritual part of my existence – partaking in activities and experiences that feed my soul.  For the record, I am an agnostic, which means that while I am open to belief in a higher power, I am unconvinced.  I hope that does not offend.  But … when I am in nature or when I am on the ocean, I am much closer to being convinced.  I cannot gaze into the eyes of a humpback whale and question that there is a God.  It’s all the other times that … well, let’s just say this is an area of particular focus for me.

In the “Surroundings” category, I have goals such as “declutter my home office” and “renovate my camp”.  This category is all about making the places where I live or to where I escape stress-free, calming, enjoyable, warm, and welcoming.  The daily stress of life and work is enough – I want my non-work surroundings to be my sanctuary.  I appreciate beauty and orderliness as beneficial to my state of calm, hence clutter, unfinished projects, and disorganization need to get the boot!

So there we have it, my themes and areas of focus for Project 2011.  In future posts, I hope to demonstrate that I am successfully climbing out of that well.