"is your soul happy today?" I pause and ask myself that question a lot. some days I can unequivocally say heck yes. but others the truth is something along the lines of "well, yes, when I make time for..."

reassessing one's life priorities emerged as a common theme of this pandemic, and with good reason. the months of crisis, hardship, and physical disconnection from friends and family made us all need to get strategic about the way we lived our lives, lest we crumble into piles of overworked, screen-addicted,  disengaged burnouts. I was no stranger to that stock-taking, and 2022 was a pivotal year for me. 

I have spent a lot of my life and career chasing soul fulfillment through work or my relationship (both perfectly awesome at the moment, btw), but I woke up one morning earlier this year and realized keeping my soul happy had to come from within. what were the things that would make me feel truly alive? asking that question is so important, but doubly important is truly prioritizing the answer to the question.

with that, these are some intentions for 2023 that I hope will keep me thriving in the new year:

nurture the creative within: whether it's attending a dance class, writing a blog post, taking photos for fun, or re-styling a room in the house, having an outlet to express imagination and emotion on a regular cadence keeps me from burying both and the dissonance I feel when I’m disconnected from my sense of self.

make time to be in nature: for me that means being in the ocean as much as reasonably possible. year round, that will mean being out on the water most weekends stand-up paddling (an activity I took up over the summer that I adore), but in the spring and summer, it might just mean a long walk on the beach or taking a dip in gentle waves, floating for a few moments and gazing up at the sky. taking in the undulations of the water, the wafting of salt air, and the sensation of sand under my feet are my own exercise in meditation.  

seek connection through new friendships: uprooting my life and living in my dream town, as satisfying as it's been, has had its casualties. I was coming from a place where I had a home base of tight-knit friends to a new town I would have virtually none. and making friends at 38 is a whole heck of a lot harder than it was at 28. so this year I am going to be hyper intentional about nurturing the connections I do make and engaging in community in various ways so that I am forging new relationships and putting down true roots here. 

what are the things in your life that make you feel truly alive? and what will you do this year to bring those things into reality for you on a regular basis? I would love to hear. 

happiest new year, friends.