So Long 2011. Thanks for all the Fish*

Dearest Kindred Spirit,

I hope this finds you appreciating the gifts of 2011, and feeling refreshed and ready for this bold new year!

Welcome to my mini wrap up of 2011! Last year I learned much via the intensive educational process we call life!

 

11 things that happened in 2011 and what I learned from them :)

  1. A person in my circle needed to be cared for in a psyche ward. Frack! I didn’t see that coming!
    I learned: to be appreciative of life, things, people and happy time (and to not take them for granted)
  2. I bought all new bras when I realised I had been wearing the wrong size for years (plus they were fraying at the edges). I learned: boob health is important (check out bodywise for comfy non-underwire bras); having the confidence to actually wear tshirts/less-than-3-layers so the overflow doesn’t ‘ruin the line’? Priceless.
  3. I acquired an electric bike. It’s fun, and good for journeys when you’re going to be grateful for a battery boost on the way home in the dark. I learned: being an early adopter means you are helping create a demand for a good thing. This is good to remember when you are pedalling one-bike-with-the-weight-of-two the last bit of the way home under your own steam ‘cos you didn’t recharge your battery or it didn’t last as long as you expected.
  4. Made the mental switch to look at my art/site as a business, and registered my business name. I learned: I maybe could’ve done so earlier, but I am glad that I took baby steps until things had built up to a recognisable need for a registered name.
  5. Made 12 new greeting card designs and 2 new calendars (cats and flowers) from existing as well as several new paintings. I learned: Keeping taking steps in the right direction, little by little. You might surprise yourself in about September when you take stock of what you’ve achieved.
  6. Gave away 60 bookplate and 101 bookmark pdfs via downloads, and 138+ bookmarks in person at markets, and a customer told me that there’s no need to also give away pistachios! I learned: it is really fun to share my bright art with appreciative bold souls, and you don’t need to also share your snacks.
  7. Had my first downheartening experience of Empty Nest syndrome, and then a shot of maple syrup upon a Christmas visit, delighted to discover the same sweet person, glowing with independence. I learned: What a smart, lovely, creative person. All those years of imperfect parenting have contributed to a good soul :D
  8. Discovered that my thyroid gland was struggling and experienced a great deal of relief when I supported it. My brain fog cleared and my energy came back, amongst other symptoms abating. I learned: porcine thyroid is similar enough to human thyroid to rectify that problem. I give thanks every day when I take my blue pill (not in a symbolic Matrix sense – heck no!) for those piggies that give their thyroids if not lives for us, as the synthetic version is not for me. Now I feel like a cannibal when I eat bacon.
  9. Now my energy has returned I can happily go back to circus training, and do jogs instead of walks. I learned: walking all those months was a gentle way to keep exercising; now my body is working better, the bigger exercise I add in will actually ‘work’.
  10. Discovered that I need to follow a low FODMAPs diet and experienced another great wave of relief when those symptoms cleared up, and possibly the people around me did too. I learned: it’s good to cut out wheat, dairy and synthetic sweeteners, but sometimes I have to even be mindful of which fruit and vegies my gut can process well.
  11. Painted 2 Magic Cats cat portraits, and was honoured by the feedback. I learned: I can make things that touch people’s hearts. Now I need to gather up enough confidence to put that right ‘out there’ in 2012. Baby steps, baby steps, see #5.

So that’s my wrap up! If you’ve blogged yours, link to it from a comment below so we can join in celebrating your year, too!

Good travelling, beautiful bold soul.
See you next time,
Love Meg x o

* And when I say Fish obviously I mean LIfe Education


Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.