Happy Holidays!
It’s a busy time of year getting together with family, wrapping up the year, and getting ready for the new one.
This year has been an interesting one for me. I feel I’ve done a lot of growing up and maturing. Seeing things a bit differently, falling into helpful rhythms, getting some consistency in my life. I’ve been working a lot on trying to let go of what doesn’t serve me and pursue the things that bring me joy. Kind of like Marie Kondo but for life. Lol.
I am beginning to see how life challenges can really serve you in the long run and help you to be better and stronger. Like a plant that weathers storms, harsh winds and the like and can be fortified by that and become hardier.
I am reminded of a book I enjoyed reading sometime around the fall of 2022 – The Joseph Principles by Steven K. Scott. For those of you who do not like Christian or religious things please be warned it is a book based on Christian principles.
But back to the point – it was a great read then and I am reminded of it as this year comes to a close because I feel a shift inside myself. For a long time I carried a lot of my past with me, the various life challenges and struggles, they really weighed me down. This year, I feel as though I have finally been able to look back and see how far I’ve come.
It’s not that I am the image of success and achievement, not even by my own standards lol, but I am at peace. I can appreciate where I have been and what I have been through and overcome and have an appreciation for myself. I am at peace with my life and the person I am. I am choosing to enjoy that feeling because for many years, perhaps my whole life I have felt restless and unsure but now more than ever I feel strong in myself and I love it 🙂
In the coming year I hope to nourish this self love and compassion. I hope to strengthen my person striking a balance between staying open to life but also secure in myself.
Hope that makes sense.
Writing Progress
I am surprised I had any traction at all this month because with the stress of the holidays I expected to be wiped out. Happily though I am able to report that I was able to sustain three weeks of writing progress.
I have returned to a story I have been trying to write for a good while now and am working on making observations about my writing process so that I can understand how I do things and experiment with what works and what doesn’t. Basically build awareness around my writing habits and work style in order to do the best work I can.
I have adjusted the expectations I have for myself and am working on scaling back and focusing on taking small steps regularly to build a strong and sustainable writing practice.
I am happy with my efforts and will continue to work on building good writing habits.
Book Life
On the book front I was able to finish two books since last posting:
Mother Hunger by Kelly McDaniel
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Both books were great and interestingly enough after finishing them I felt that they had similar themes running through them. Ideas about daughters and their relationships to their mothers and the impact that these formative relationships have long-term. I found them to be very interesting reads and recommend them to anyone seeking material on complex mother-daughter relationships and mental health.
Currently I have a few books that I am reading through slowly that likely will not get finished anytime soon, so no use in pressuring myself.
I am pleased that this year I managed to read 21 books 🙂
I am not sure what my goal was for the year when I started, I feel like perhaps my unspoken hope was to read at least one book a month or 12 books in a year. I clearly surpassed that. I also know that as the year got on and I got closer to this point in time I hoped I could finish 24 books to have an average of 2 books per month. I missed that goal 😦 but it’s ok.
What’s Next in the New Year
In the coming year my goal will be to read and finish 24 books in the year.
Also as mentioned previously I want to strengthen my writing practice by building sustainable writing habits. Small things weekly that I know I can maintain.
I am very excited for the new year and the chance to freshen up my attitude and work on refocusing again.
I wish you all a very happy new year full of positive energy!
Until next time,
Angelica Sophia
Angelica Sophia 
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