Welcome 2010!

You know what? Looking back at the year that just ended is for sissies.

Ok, totally kidding. It's for those who have a healthy sense of reflection and appreciation for all that they have accomplished. My problem is that I have an incredibly overactive sentimentality gland (right next to the Catholic guilt gland), and tend to get lost in wallowing in what was. I lose all perspective and appreciation for what will be.

So this year, I'm just moving forward. Welcome to Two Thousand Ten, or Twenty Ten or Two-Zero-One-Zero, or whatever you are rolling with.

One of my favorite new traditions is the "One Word" tradition that I first heard of while reading Ali Edward's blog a couple years ago. Essentially you choose one word that you want to focus your attention on, or symbolizes your goals/hopes for the year. This last year my word was "Cultivate". It was a word that worked really well in helping me focus in sometimes on what I wanted to be doing with my time.

This year my word is...

mindful

1 : bearing in mind : aware
2 : inclined to be aware

Far too often, I feel like I don't have the time to do the things I want to do. But the truth is, I DO have the time - I just choose to use it in other ways. Watching junk TV, frittering away hours just cruising from one website to another, and puttering around the house are all time vacuums that provide me with little joy or fulfillment. I really want to spend this year being mindful of how I spend my days. When I am with my boys, I want to really be with them. When I'm not actively enjoying my evenings, I want to work on sewing or knitting or blogging or reading or taking a bubble bath or whatever it is that will help me feel more fulfilled. I also want to be very mindful of what it is that I put into my body, and how I am helping to make my body healthier. I want to be mindful that I am nurturing my relationships with others, rather than taking a passive approach with people I love.

Basically, I'm looking to place a big neon sign in my brain that screams "PAY ATTENTION". It's the old cliche that time goes too quickly, but I don't want to miss any of the goodness going on in my world because I was too busy wasting time.

So, MINDFUL it is.

For those of you out there who have chosen a word for the year, what is it? Leave me a comment - there just might be something in it for you...