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Owner, "MAP Wellness" - a culinary nutrition and wellness company. Writer. Passionate cook, raw food chef, reiki practitioner, yoga teacher, and LIVE WELL educator. ​do yoga. enjoy good food. run. plant food. cook. savour wine. read books. buy good food. love. grow your energy. find peace. enjoy food. have passion. skip. eat food. do yoga. listen to jazz. have presence. be present. bike. read. see. hear. be. live. love.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Renewal. Renew. 2012's word to LIVE by.

Oddly, I had decided on the title for this blog a few days ago, knowing that I wanted to write a page dedicated to the dismissal of 2011, and the celebration of twelve new months of opportunity laid before us.  I had chosen to simply call it "Renewal".  That was until I received a "tweet" from my big sis Steph early on New Year's Eve that forced me to revise.  Her tweet? 

"2012's word to live by: Renew. Love it, @mediamegannep?"

And I do LOVE it.  I am all for living a life of renewal and regeneration this coming year...2011 was a toughie for sure, but damn did I learn a lot.  I am grateful to have been able to take all the tumultuous times and chaotic events that transpired in my life this past year, and turn them into real learning experiences.  Each misfortune a part of the grand process.  Every dire moment, every crash and burn, every triumph, success, and liberation, just another step towards my becoming the best me I can be.  However, I will be more than welcoming to a calmer sea this 2012, and plan to spend the entirety of this year rebuilding what was lost, and also renewing my resolve to really improve many of my relationships, including the all important love relationship with myself.  So, I welcome 2012 with open arms, and humbly bid adieu to the rocky road of 2011.
Now, that said, I am by no means an advocate of the "new year's resolution".  I think the idea is a titch silly, really.  And the pressures involved are just as nutty!  No, I try to keep various purposeful projects going all year long, and to me the new year merely represents yet another checkpoint.  It is an opportunity to take a step back, take a deep breath, and then take stock of where you have been, where you are, and where you would like to eventually be.  This is something I have been trying to do consistently as of late, and it has been a great motivator, and a chance to really re-connect with myself.  I suppose that with this being New Year's Day, I do feel a little excitement about what the coming year may bring...I do have plans after all, and am super keen to see how they play out!

But, no pressure.  I am not setting myself up for failure, and I refuse to make any kooky commitments that are unsustainable in the long term.  I know I can't expect to make a complete 180 overnight, especially when it comes to the vices and bad habits I have battled for years...no, I am using this new year as an opportunity to reset my focus, and to devise a plan on how I want to live my life moving forward.  As part of said plan, I am creating a "To LIVE" list.  No resolutions, no to-do list, just a bunch of stuff I think will be fun to live at some point in my life.  So here goes:


My To LIVE list (in no particular order)
1. Learn Spanish
2. Complete my "Culinary Nutrition Expert" course (Spring 2012!)
3. Travel: Italy, Brazil, Bali, Egypt, Greece, Manchu Picchu
4. Complete my Yoga Teacher Certification
5. Visit NYC at Christmastime
6. Start my own company in the health & wellness industry
7. Open a "Nourishment Centre"- with a focus on eating disorder recovery
8. Snorkel
9. Learn to Salsa dance
10. Get published
11. Tour the Niagara On the Lake wineries via bicycle
12. Stay at a yoga ashram (long term, and short term)
13. Learn to sail a boat
14. Run a 1/2 marathon
15. Knit socks, mittens and eventually a sweater
16. Mail 20 love letters
17. Complete a Hot Yoga "30 Day Challenge"


Those are the ideas that come to mind as I sit here on the first day of 2012, a thirty-one year old woman, with intention.  I will not be able to complete this list over the course of the coming year obviously (imagine I could travel to all those places in one year? wowzers!), but I am positive I can and will scratch quite a few off the list before 2013 rolls around.  I have already gotten the ball rolling on a few after all.  I also realize that this list is bound to evolve and change as I do, and am prepared to make alterations as required. 

There are also a few things I hope for when it comes to growing my spiritual self as well, and some ideas I aspire to further explore when it comes to matters of the heart. Plus, there are more than a few emotional hurdles I am focused on leaping masterfully past.  

So, I will set those intentions, and then let them be.  Just like blowing the seeds of a dandelion flower into the wind, I will send my seeds of intention out into the universe, and will not follow.  I will trust that they will land, sow, and grow into what is true and right.  No expectations. 
And guess what?  As I sit and write this post, I realize that I do have one resolution after all.  I hereby resolve to live my 2012 with all the passion, love, awareness, courage, and integrity that I can, and I will try not to be too let down when things don't seem to go my way.  I will take life as it comes, every relationship, challenge and success, a teacher.  It is a time of renewal indeed, and I plan to enjoy every single second, in the here and now.


Happy New Year everyone!!  Light & Love to you all!




2 comments:

  1. Meg--I have been meaning to pass on for some time now my warmest congrats to you for creating such a thoughtful and inspired blog! Also--what an extraordinarily beautiful writer you are! You have a clear, distinctive and positive voice--such a pleasure to read:)

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    Replies
    1. Emily, thank you. Your words mean a lot, and I so appreciate your reading & support!

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