I will

My latest issue of House and Leisure magazine has just arrived - the only mag I subscribe to on an annual basis, usually for the pure wish-list drool value! :-) It's the new-year copy, and lists "10 resolutions for creating the home of your dreams", namely:

1. I will have a tidy kitchen with room to work.
2. I will have a statement-making living room.
3. I will have a space to work at home.
4. I will have a sleep-inducing bedroom.
5. I will have a bathroom I want to spend time in.
6. I will have a fantastic kid's room.
7. I will have an entertainer's dining room.
8. I will have a spruced-up outdoor living space.
9. I will have room for friends to stay over.
10. I will have my family photos on display.

..which of course is all good and well, and lovely to aspire to. They've even provided loads of inspiration with each "I will", along with suggested products and prices on most things. And each item has drool-worthiness, quite my taste in decor and functionality. But there's only so much one can do with a one-bedroom rented flat.. :-)

Anyway, their list has inspired me to do another kind of "I will" list, as this year draws to a close and I fine-tune my life to make way for the awesome possibilities of the future. There are a few silly, small things on my list, and some big ones too. As I start listing them, I'm pretty sure there are more than 10. But here goes:

1. I will learn Spanish, and travel to Spain to speak it - the Camino still calls. But that's not all. I will attempt to learn a language each year and travel to a country where it's spoken officialy - French is up in 2008.

2. I will ensure that wholesome food, crafted with care, love and enjoyment, will be the bulk of what we eat. I will organically grow as much of it as I can myself.I will expand my bread-making repertoire into the kinds of things "artisan bakers" sell, and bake more often. (This may sound like one of the silly ones to most of you, but there's nothing as divine as both making and eating top-class bread - something that says "home" to me)

3. I will not be afraid to love - life, other, myself. I will open up my heart to feel fully, embrace living in it's many variants and revel in each moment as it happens, without living in either future or past. I will hope and dream and believe that I will have hands big enough to receive what is being sent my way. I will have a soft heart that is open to experience, not a self-protective cold hard one. I will make room in my life for family and friends - more than just the occasional obligatory get-together.

4. I will finally finish turning my living space into a welcoming, warm, comforting home. (I will probably be inspired by my latest House & Leisure mag on this one.. :-) ) I will have a garden that gives pleasure, and a house that breeds serenity. I will not be hesitant to invite anyone inside, or to stay.

5. I will live mindfully, in harmony with the earth and the creatures that inhabit it - human and otherwise. I will thus do nothing that harms another, whether it be through what I eat, what I wear, what I say or do, or how I choose to spend my leisure time.

6. I will dare. I will dare to speak up, to live all-out, to say what I think, to express what I feel. I will not cower in fear of what others may say. I will dare to dream and will not give up on a single one, no matter how way-out it may seem.

7. I will learn - not half-way, but all there is to know about things that fascinate me. Whether it's web design languages, a passion for Land Rovers, companion planting or how to be a better parent-of-teen, I will set aside time and effort to exploring hidden corners and dusty shelves of every aspect until I know it well.

8. I will take up paint and pen, brush and charcoal and camera again - and allow my hands to remember their artistic expression, my thoughts to remember their stories, my eyes to see things differently and capture it. I will create for me, not to impress others, but simply to express myself. I will rediscover music and learn how to use that talent in a new way - one that builds on and goes beyond the narrow channel in which I've used it in the past. I will try to learn a new instrument.

9. I will expect abundance, and let that guide me toward a better future financially. I will not be motivated by materialism, desire, need or jealousy - but instead follow my heart and soul toward that which is both fulfilling and rewarding, a perfect fit for who I am.

10. I will have adventures - not only the big ones, but the every-day kind that would pass you by if you didn't seek them out. I will fine-tune my perspective on what each day brings, and discover the miraculous in the mundane.

OK, that sounds like a big enough list of "I will"s for the coming year - right?! If nothing else, that's where my thoughts are headed, in those directions and with determination not to tread water through each day.

Funny how stating "I will" instead of "I hope to" or "I wish I could" makes it seems completely possible to achieve.