Speak Easy

Ooh so speak easy;
Out here we’re floating
Late in the night and the only light to guide us
Is a full moon that’s glowing on the sea
And my heart slows down. -311

New beginning.  Each month always feels like a new beginning. There is just something about starting with the number one that feels new.

The slate is wiped clean.  

I am in Chicago.  I am here for a training class in publishing software.  Who would have ever guessed in a million years I would be here learning a program for technical writing?  And who would ever guess that I would actually enjoy it? 

Sigh. Yeah, neither did I.  

It has been a nice break from the office...and routine. The hotel is fabulous.  The food has been so delicious and the extra rest is much needed.

A nice little break to finally decompress.  Reflect.  Slow down. Reassess my situation.

February was a good month.  I had a strong first half.

  

I learned how to get my butt out of bed at 4:30am.  I finally defeated my bratty inner child.  I overcame the fear of joining a Masters class.  

The second half was a bit more stressful and I could feel the toll on my body.  

Work stress.  Lack of sleep.  My eating habits declined.  

There is still plenty of room for improvement.

So what is next on my list? 

There are several areas I need to tackle, so trying to prioritize has been a challenge.  Here are my three weakest areas that I would like to work on.

1. WATER. I need to drink more water. Period. I feel the lack of water affecting my workouts.  But the challenge is, how do I measure the positive results of increasing my water intake? 
2. MEDITATION. Did that just conjure up an image of a person sitting cross-legged on top of a hill with their pointy  fingers touching her thumbs resting on their knees chanting "OOOOOHHHHMMM"?  Heh heh...yeah, it used to pop up in my head too.  I remember when I was 20 years old, my dad wanted my brother and I to take classes in (TM) Transcendental Meditation.  I wanted to run away screaming, but I still gave it a try. I never would have guessed that it would be one of my best connections to him now that he is gone. Picture your mind as the rough waters of the ocean with all your thoughts going through your head.  Meditation will make that mind ocean as smooth as glass. So why I do not make time for it more often?  I do not know.  But it seems now that my life has become so crazy busy, I am yearning for that stillness, that connection, more than ever.
3. TIME.  How do I spend my free time?  Well, I would like to spend less time on the computer and more time on my passions.  Time is more valuable than money.  I am working on ways to reorganize my routine.

 The theme this month will be to slow down.  Go easy. 

So every day in March I will drink half my body weight in water, every day.  That will be 70 ounces a day, minimum.  That means no ice tea for me just for one month. 

I will meditate once a day, every day for 30 days.  20 minutes. Bonus points if I can do it twice.

And I will finish up my Spring/Summer race schedule for the next 6 months and then leave it alone.  No more looking for hours on end searching for different races on the net.  It is sucking up too much free time.  I need to make my decisions and then leave my plan alone.  That act alone will instantly open up my free time.

And that should sum up the goals for March. Perfect time for Spring.  The season of new beginnings.

Speak Easy. A beautiful song to start a beautiful month-3/11.