Happy New Year!
Are you ready for 2017?
For 2017 I’ve dedicated myself to focusing on cultivating happiness by choosing experiences over things.
I live far from all my family and friends and therefore my goal this year is to ensure I reconnect and fuel the relationships that fill my heart with happiness.
I believe that friendships or any kind of relationship requires a certain level of maintenance and effort that can be lost in today’s virtual world.
Nothing replaces quality time spent with someone.
Time is the one commodity that we all lack and most valuable when it comes to maintaining relationships. It is the very best gift we can give to each other.
I will be escaping some of the Toronto winter and heading out to visit Sherry in Phoenix during the month of February for a 40+ Blogger Meet-up!
My ticket is already booked! Sherry has been busy planning away and I am so pumped about everything she has already organized. It is going to be a blast!
Did I mention that Sherry is one little ball of positive creative energy? I still haven’t figured out how her huge heart fits into her petite body.
Will I see you there?
Be sure to let Sherry know if you think you might be able to make it.
In March I’m going to be back in BC to visit family and reconnect with long time blogging buddies Melanie and Sue.
Meeting with these two is like a trip to Disneyland for adults. 100% fun.
They have a way of igniting my creativity and making me laugh uncontrollably.
Maybe we’ll create another video. Any suggestions?
After winter has passed several of my blogging friends may come to visit me again during the summer.
Patti ( the Therapist Whisperer) & Ally (the most thoughtful motorcycle riding mermaid in NY).
I’m counting on you both to stuff this summer full of more quality memories. I promise not to be late to the party this time around!
Making the time to get to know my friends better enriches my life in ways that no dress or pair of shoes can.
Come April I hope to meet-up with my wonderful kind and creative friend Anja when I am in Asia visiting my husband currently in Hong Kong for work.
FaceTime is great and all but the pug and I were so happy when he came home for Christmas.
Now we are back to a 13 hour time difference and saying good night when it is morning and good morning when it is night.
Insert very unhappy face here.
Late summer may mean a little trip to NYC for another blogger meet-up this time with Sylvia, Greetje and hopefully a few others. You can read up more on Anja, Greetje and Sylvia from my trip two years ago when I visited them in Holland. It was such a fantastic trip! I am so grateful for meeting these wonderfully unique and inspirational women.
That’s as far as I have planned to create lasting experiences and memories this year rather than focusing on what I want to buy next.
As I get older I’m keenly aware of just how much joy things can bring me.
It is fleeting and superficial.
To assume that by buying a certain object I will somehow magically become the person I’ve always wanted to be, live the life I’ve always dreamed of or become happier is a lie I’ve been fed my whole life by marketing agencies to oil the democratic machine of mass consumption.
The old fashioned and unsustainable “solution” which stimulates our economy and spoils the planet does not fill my heart with lasting joy.
How To Create More Happiness In Your Life
- Spend more time with friends.
- Make a point of doing one small thoughtful gesture daily for someone you know, or someone you don’t.
- Hug a loved one. Go ahead and give them a good long squeeze. You’ll both feel great afterwards.
- Help someone in need.
- Let someone know how much you care about them. Don’t assume they know.
- Pet a furry friend.
- Laugh more often.
That emptiness you’ve been trying to fill up with things will never go away, you need to change your mindset.
Experiences create memories, not things.
When you are on your death bed will you be lamenting that last pair of shoes you didn’t manage to scoop up on sale?
For your sake I hope not.
Small choices in our lives create big changes both for ourselves and the world in which we live.
As a style blogger this is a conundrum I face. Sometimes I feel that blogging doesn’t align with my personal values. I have a passion for clothing however it is simply a tool I use to help me express myself and connect with like minded people. I don’t want to promote fast fashion or over consumption. It is a difficult balance to maintain and one I struggle with every post I write.
This year I will continue to feature thrifted or vintage items on the blog and in my Etsy store as well as old favourites like the dress I am wearing below. I hope in doing so I can inspire other women to consider buying secondhand clothing or shopping in their closets more often.
I wanted to share my thoughts on blogging and how I’m trying to pay particular attention this year to creating enduring moments of happiness with friends and family rather than relying on material goods to fill my life.
Ultimately it is our experiences in life and they way we react to them which create sustainable happiness.
What are your plans for happiness in 2017?
Linking up with Visible Monday, I Will Wear What I Like, Shoe and Tell, Turning Heads Tuesdays, Hat Attack
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