flow of gratitude

(me on Mt. Washington, Sept. 2010)

"when you can't run, you crawl,

and when you can't crawl,

you find someone to carry you"

-cptn malcolm reynolds,

from firefly

coming home for the holidays always feels like being dunked into a pool of gratitude - it doesn't even feel intentional, I just feel flooded with thanks. with each year, I feel like there are more places I call home and more people I feel grateful to come home to. As I get farther on this path to becoming a doctor, and especially as I prepare to embark on a year living out of a suitcase calling different states, hospitals, and rented condos home, I realize just how important it is that we carry each other.

as the new year approaches, I find myself reflecting on the past year and creating intentions for the next - hoping I'll live just a little more closely to my values. Here are some lessons from 2010 and intentions for 2011 inspired by the many wise people in my life.

lessons and intentions:

*

get outside

*

strive for more impact on people, less on the earth

*

be a good loser, winner, and beginner

*

connect to a greater community

*

and a smaller community

*

call on your support systems when you need them

*

remember your inner child

*

try something that seems too big, too hard

*

remind yourself that you don't have to believe everything you think

*

reacquaint yourself with your internal rhythm

*

there are many ways to stay in touch with people; try them all

*

everyone wants to feel competent, valued, and loved

*

when in doubt, choose happiness

what are your intentions for 2011? what did you do well in 2010?

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"A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it."

-Dune, by Frank Herbert