New Year, New Energy

Happy New Year, friends! Here we are . . .a brand new opportunity for the year of our lives. Let's clean out the stale energy of 2012 and make room for the positive energy of 2013.

If resolutions aren't your thing, how about a "Word of the Year" to guide your choices? I have seen others do this for the past few years and it's a nice idea. It can be a noun or a verb . . .it's up to you and how you spin it.

After giving it some thought, my word for 2013 is . . .

Over the next year, I want to

• Stretch my body . . . flexibility is a marker of good health.
• Stretch my thinking . . .continue to explore ideas that stretch my understanding of the world and how it works. This will make me a better teacher, a better writer and a more informed consumer.
• Stretch my dollars . . .I want to buy less "stuff" and make a very conscious effort to spend less, use less and live more.
• Stretch my comfort zone . . .challenge myself to try new things and break the rut of the day to day minutia.
• Stretch my palate . . .I want to try to adhere to a more plant-based, non-processed diet. This will push me to experiment with new vegetarian recipes and home-cooked meals . . .a win-win.
• Stretch my boundaries . . . there are always new places to explore, both in the area where I live and around the world.

So that's my idea for 2013. What's yours? Cheers!