2012 in review and dreams for 2013

Supplies for working through Unravelling the Year Ahead - 2013

I  can't believe that 2012 is coming to a close in just a few days!  About 5 years ago I started doing a year-end review and a look forward to the new year at a day-long urban retreat.   We used prompts to write in our journals and created vision boards using images clipped from magazines to celebrate the highlights of the year, contemplate the difficulties, reflect on the lessons learned and dream of the possibilities for the new year. As an avid list maker, I find this exercise to be immensely helpful in organizing my thoughts and ideas and has helped me bring many of my dreams to reality.  

To do this at home, here is a link to by Susannah Conway's website where she offers an amazing free 20+ pages workbook called Unravelling the Year Ahead - 2013.  The workbook will step you through this process.  It took me just a few hours to complete this activity while I was a captive audience in the car on the return road trip from visiting family for the holidays.  Now that I am done, I can see that I did actually accomplish many of the things that I set out to do back in January 2012.  I also see things some things that didn't turn out the way I envisioned and some I didn't even get started at all - and that's okay.  Then there were the things that I hadn't expected or planned for that made for a very enriched year.  I encourage you to  print out the workbook, light a scented candle or incense, gather your favorite pens, scissors, glue and a couple of magazines to clip images from along with your favorite beverage and explore where your journey has taken you over the past 12 months and dare to dream for the new year.

More resources for exploring goal setting or journaling:

kimberlywilson.com - Washington DC area retreats, podcasts, workshops and ecourses at  including the Urban Women's Yoga Retreat 

susannahconway.com -  Online courses including an interactive e-course version of Unravelling

lizlamoreaux.com - retreats and ecourses on journaling including Inner Excavation 

chickadeeroad.com - ecourses on journaling

I think that no matter how large or small your dreams may be that you'll have a better chance of making them happen if you put it down on paper in some way: words, pictures, lists, poems, drawings - whatever speaks to you.  You'll have something to guide you and remind you to take even one tiny step at a time towards your dreams when everyday life puts you on autopilot.

Wishing you a happy and creative new year!  

Thanks for reading!  

Snow storm in southern Indiana - December 2012