Live with Intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. – Mary Anne Radmacher
It turns out that January’s fumbled start was just what I needed to stop and consider what intention can mean for my life. And February brought lots of thoughts and even some ideas and before I knew it, being intentional slowly began to take root in my days.
One thing I wanted to be more intentional about this year was my reading. I really needed to give myself permission to slow down and savor a story versus being a perpetual participant in the Reading Race. And wow, this has been a surprisingly delightful thing. Part of that slowing down and savoring process has included writing brief reviews/thoughts on the books I have finished. I am taking time from when I finish a book to when I write the review – time in which I am processing the story, thinking about what I liked, what stayed with me, and what about this book makes me want to tell someone they need to read it (or not as the case might be).
The other part of my intentional reading includes reading more poetry. I know very little about poetry outside a few poems that my grandpa eagerly shared with me. He loved poetry and had so many poems memorized and it was amazing to hear him talk about them. But my poetry knowledge leaves much to be desired so this year my goal is to read a book of poetry each month. I never realized what I was missing by not reading poetry, but the journey thus far has been both eye and mind-opening!
The other facet of my life is making, and it is clear to me that I need to be be intentional in my making (as well as my reading!) I spent some time going through “in process” projects and a good number of them were unraveled. It felt so good to reclaim those needles and my “yes, I really want to make this” list is now manageable. I realized that making is not a race – I love the process of knitting. But, honestly…how many more sweaters, scarves, hats, etc. do I need?
I have been slowly going through my wardrobe with some intention as well and as a result I have more things that will be leaving which makes it easier to see “holes” that need to be plugged. Once I have completed this “clean out” I will have a list of things that I will work on making as the year progresses. Intentional making is a very good thing!
One thing I have been truly been missing is some kind of daily stitching – but again, I don’t really need or want to do twelve more months of stitching projects. However, a somewhat planned 100 Day Project might be just the thing and I have begun sketching out some ideas of what/where/how I’d like to create this textile. I’d like this to fall somewhere in between “play with abandon” and “continue to learn” or perhaps both!
I am joining Honoré and friends as we explore our words together! Stop by and see how everyone did!
Photo by Nubia Navarro (nubikini) from Pexels
It sounds like you are being intentional in many different aspects of your life, and that is a good thing! Taking time, savoring, assessing, acting, and cleaning out are all key aspects of intention that you are practicing. Way to go, Kat! 🙂
I love that “play with abandon” and “continue to learn” – such a great idea! Looks like you have the perfect word for you Kat. I’ve been reading more poetry as well and really enjoying. Interesting that you mentioned your Grandfather. My Dad would talk about how his Father would recite poetry to him and his siblings daily. And, in turn, my Dad would often recite poetry to us. My Mom would too, but typically it was in Latin which I didn’t understand – lol.
It sounds like despite our different words, we’re taking very similar approaches to our reading and crafting! I’ve had the same thoughts about reading, and I have no doubt that the Goodreads reading challenge is partly to blame for making me feel like I always have to hurry up and read more. The goal shouldn’t be to finish the book, it should be to enjoy the book, and sometimes that really means slowing down to take it in properly.
I think I will join you in reading some more poetry this year. I used to read a lot of it (and also wrote a fair bit of it myself back in middle/high school), but I’ve gotten out of the habit. I know for starters I’d like to read more of Mary Oliver’s work; when she passed away and everyone was posting their favorite poems of hers, I realized I’d really been missing out.
It sounds like you are being very mindful about how you are spending your time and I think that’s wonderful. Good for you, friend!
Wow – I love all of the areas you’re looking at!
I’m amazed by people who read poetry and I’ll be following your GoodReads closely for suggestions because poetry is so difficult for me!
What a great start to your year – I can’t wait to see what the rest of 2020 brings!
Reading with more intention . . . is something I started for myself a few years ago. It’s a really life-changing thing when you slow down and take time with books, isn’t it? The simple truth is that we will never be able to read all the books we’d like to read (or make all the things we want to make), so we might as well enjoy and take note in the ones we do have time for! I’m so glad your word is making a positive difference in your days, Kat!
oh Kat, this sounds wonderful! I’m especially intrigued by your #100days project ideas. Looking forward to seeing how that evolves!
I love your goals (or non goals?) for reading. I try to have an easy book (fast read) a crunchy book (longer more in depth plot) and a non fiction going at the same time. I try not to be too crazy about it but I like the mix up.
Enjoy your journey into poetry. Mary Oliver wrote The Poetry Handbook. It is a nice little reference about poetry in general.
I love that you’re slowing down and assessing. I could certainly stand to do some of that. I listen to most of my reading in the car and then just get to work/house/store and move along. I’d love to be more intentional about my reading and actually write some things down too!
Sounds like you are getting on track. I’ve added cross-stitching to my stitching rotation cause as you said how many more scarves, sweaters, etc., do we need! I’ve re-connected [my OLW] with cross stitch, but am now embracing linen which requires a bit more focus and I am indeed loving the process. Indeed, our crafting is a marathon not a race!