Anyone out there still keeping up with those pesky New Year's resolutions? Here we are at the end of January, so for those of us on this calendar cycle, that's the end of the first month for the new year. For some on the Chinese New Year, the cycle is just getting started. For me though, it's time to reflect and see how things are going.
Go to the mountains to reflect they said. Know what? It's friggin' cold in the mountains in January.
I'm rocking the eat more vegetables and fruits goal. No. Really. I am. I've been making smoothies a few mornings a week, so that's helping. It's easy to throw in some spinach or kale along with berries and an avocado and a banana and hit liquefy. Although, I am wondering if perhaps I need to try stopping the Greek yogurt. I like the extra protein and the zing from the yogurt as well as the healthy fat, but the added dairy in my diet may be contributing to the upshot of migraines. I dunno for sure. I've never made the connection between dairy and migraine, but it's a possibility. Last time I checked my migraine app, I was at 21 pain days. That's a lot. Too many. Ridiculously high actually, so I'll be tweaking my recipe I guess. I'm getting a healthy dose of good fat from the avocado, so as long as that stupid, stupid Tangerine Tyrant in Chief backs down from his stupid, stupid plan to make us pay more for Mexican imports to support a stupid, stupid fence that won't do a godsdamned thing about illegal immigrants along our southern border, I should be good there. Avocados are a really good source of fats and and easy way to get my 5 a day in. I fucking love avocados. I also eat more carrots and apples etc. at lunch. I'm really kicking tail on the whole produce thing.
I read somewhere that it takes 4-5 years for an avocado tree to produce fruit. Even if we somehow managed to get a tree going inside, we'd have a long wait...
Cutting my social media consumption. Well...ahem *cue crickets. I'm not doing as well with this one. I like getting my news source linked together in my newsfeed through Facebook. I have some reliable news sources that tRumpCheeto doesn't seem to hold in terror (Thank you Guardian and Reuters and Slate and BBC) and I like having them all in one place. It's been a helluva a week. I admit. It's really been that proverbial train wreck that you can't look away from. I'm watching closely and fighting in any way I can, and my newsfeed as well as my activist friends are my source of inspiration and activism. I was fairly good at the start of the month about not clicking in right before bed, but I've been bad lately. I need to do better. I will do better. I can be efficient at my consumption and still be part of the resistance. I feel an obligation to be informed right now because of all the mayhem Donald the Despot wants to create. 30 minutes before bed though, no more. Gotta cut that connection 30 minutes before sleepy time.
Maybe if this owl had sound, I could rig it to go off if I tried to log onto my phone before bed and it'd startle me enough to stop me like squirting a cat with a water bottle.
Oh who am I kidding? That's too much work.
Taking action financially. Well, I did meet with a guy who got me on the path for student loan forgiveness. I haven't received the paperwork back from HR though. I am hoping as long as it gets filed it will still be good. It's one of those get it filed before Asshat in the Whitehouse cancels the program kind of situations. I also get to do the taxes today, so after that, I will move some money into those online savings accounts to see which ones perform better. Baby steps. I haven't gone back to check on the crowdfunding site, but I will. I want to do taxes and set up the accounts first.
As for my Wiccan/pagan goal of speaking up for what I believe in, I do believe I am doing better about being authentic in that regard. I saw something a friend posted about how when you are silent about issues that are dear to you, you come off as being insincere rather than authentic. It feels that way , too. I don't want to be insincere. I don't want to be a dick either, but I think being silent and just scrolling past blatant falsehoods and statements that do nothing more than propagate discord and division is lazy. It's cowardly. Now more than ever, I can't do that. I used to think it was ok because what was the point? It was just Facebook. WTF ever. Social media is proving to be a useful tool. Just look at the rogue park rangers. I need to speak up; otherwise I'm not being my authentic self. I need to be living my personal truth. It's been too long. With all the crap that the POrangeTUS is pulling, I can't allow people to think this is business as usual. It's not. Nothing that man has done is business as usual. I honestly can't believe he's where he is right now, but I will do all I can as a citizen to resist and to speak for the values of America that I hold dear. That means speaking up when I see something that denigrates women, LGBTQ, immigrants, the poor, the disabled, people of color, science, unions, and education. Silence means acceptance.
I WILL NOT BE SILENT!
That's where I'm at. Good on veggies, trying to resist social media, but my resistance is getting in the way, mediocre on finance, and getting stronger on voice. Despite the havoc being wrought in Washington, some really wonderful things are happening in my life. Some rather challenging things, too. However, having that authentic center guiding me--that personal conviction and courage to confront injustice when I can--gives me a sense of purpose I haven't felt in a while.
Imbolc is coming. I'm ready for the light.
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