Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts

Saturday, 15 December 2012

Preparing For 2013 (New Year's Resolutions)

I know that many people don't make New Year's Resolutions, for the very simple and good reason that, if you want to make changes in your life, you shouldn't wait for a certain date - you should just do it. But being the slightly overdramatic type of person I am, I like to have a certain amount of ritual around things, so as it is coming up to New Year anyway, I thought I would configure some upcoming changes I would like to make to my life with the changing of the year.

In 2012, I feel I have already been through some changes as a person. Nothing huge or groundbreaking; just small-but-important adjustments to how I see myself and how I relate to the world around me. These small changes are the foundation for most of the resolutions I am looking forward to putting into practise in the year ahead.

  • Go vegan.
This is probably the most drastic of the changes I want to make. This year I have been trying to be less focused on myself and to spend more time thinking outwards, which has led to a whole waterfall of new views and outlooks, running an entire gamut from feminism to spirituality, environmentalism, random acts of kindness, body positivity and a whole load of things I had taken for granted and never really paid attention to.

As I hunted through the interwebs and the library to try to understand and put into perspective all the new-to-me things I was learning about, I decided to take some steps towards a more eco-friendly, cruelty-free lifestyle. And as I was researching this, I discovered veganism. Obviously I'd heard of it before, but I had never taken it seriously as a lifestyle choice - clearly too extreme, too unhealthy, too limiting to be a viable prospect for a growing woman needing a supportive and healthy diet.

I was thinking about becoming a vegetarian; partly because of the green issues with meat farming and partly because of the horrendous conditions endured by animals bred for slaughter. But on PETA's website [tangent: I have discovered in my research that PETA are not tremendously popular amongst the vegan crowd due to their sexist advertisements and overly-aggressive tactics, but they were the first resource I found when I began looking into veganism] I began to discover that dairy produce and eggs were subject to similiar ethical concerns.

So I looked further into veganism, and to my surprise I found that actually, a good vegan diet is not only incredibly good for you (vegans are, apparently, proven to live longer and have more energy) but boasts an enormous variety of recipes and is not at all as 'extreme' as I was originally led to believe.
I don't have a relevant picture, so here is a photo of me and my cat. I feel this is a perfectly acceptable substitute.
I am using the time between now and January 1st to ease my way into a vegan lifestyle, using up the meat and dairy products I have left in the house (I am on a very tight budget; waste is a no-no) and beginning to replace household products and cosmetics with vegan alternatives. I have just done this week's food shop and am proud to say I bought no animal products whatsoever - for exactly the same amount of money as my usual weekly grocery run.
  • Write a novel.
I have really fallen out of the habit of fiction writing; with six (awful) vanity-published novels to my name, I'd love to get back on board and get back in the swing of gloriously cheesy pulp fiction tomes.
  • Get up earlier.
Imagine what I could do with all that free time in the morning. I could sew. I could write. I could go for a calming stroll in the spring sunshine. I could actually eat breakfast for once.
  • Stay de-junked.
In all aspects of life. No more hoarding. No more buying stuff I don't need, don't use and really only 'liked' because it was there when I wanted to blow some cash and get my spending fix. Also no more hiding bank statements in the cupboard without opening them. No more letting paperwork stack up. I will be buying a Filofax... and I'm not afraid to use it.
  • Stop buying clothing from chain stores.
Perhaps this is a resolution I could have done with making in my Gothier days. No mass-produced, boring, sweatshop crap. At least if I buy my mass-produced sweatshop crap from charity shops (I'm also giving the OK to buying handmade, organic, FairTrade and vintage) I know my money is doing some good.
  • Keep a book journal.
  • Go abroad.
I've never been abroad. Ever. Unless Wales counts. Even then, that was a decade ago.
  • Exercise regularly.
I have a body. Bodies like moving.
  • Craft more.

Are you making any New Year's Resolutions? What, and why (or why not)?

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Know Thyself

I was clearing out my favourites tab this week (it's a big job, believe me) and I came across a blog post from Eco In Black that I had bookmarked a while ago. This post is entitled Good Goth Keeping, (aka Know Thyself), and it's basically the start of a set of challenges to help flaily types in emotional crises, such as myself. (OK, OK, I don't know if that was quite Eco's original intent, but... that's what I'm doing with it. Eco wrote, "I realized I lost most of my sense of self. Understand: I still know what kinds of movies I like, the books I want to read, and that I still love Goth. But there are things missing, like a sense of direction, sense of control, or a even a hobby, really," and I practically exploded with relief when I read this, because this was exactly, exactly how I have felt throughout most of this year.)

The post linked to above incorporates tips one and two, which are as follows:

1. Assess your physical baggage and the psychological will follow. Get out of your own way.

2. Write. Write something. Write anything. Write. Everyday.

I already keep a good ol'fashioned paper-and-ink journal, so the writing part is not tremendously difficult for me. When not journaling I am often blogging (duh), and yesss, one of my goals for the next few months is to finally start working on some fiction projects again. I haven't approached fiction in more than a year, and as it was my first love and my whole reason for being for, oh, most of my existence, I figure it's time to give it another shot and stop letting it get pushed to the bottom of my priorities pile.

Assessing my physical baggage is... harder. I have been redecorating my lair for the better part of a year now; it's taking so long because of the sheer amount of STUFF that I have. I have gotten rid, so far, of FIFTY THREE bags of clothing, books, and miscellaneous junk. Fifty. Three. How I even managed to physically fit so much - OK, I'll say it - crap into my average-sized-to-small bedroom is beyond me. No wonder I couldn't move in there. It was getting claustrophobic. I couldn't stand to be in my own living space because I just felt overwhelmed by the volume of STUFF.
As things were.
Finally, now, I am getting somewhere with the redecoration project. I have new furniture. I have a carpet. My walls are painted (with a little help from my friends - I threw a painting party). I am really starting to love my room, although it is still a little untidy and looks somewhat like a very disorganised library.

The only downside is that I am still sifting through the junk. The trouble is that I am a hoarder, and I attach sentimental value to every damn thing. But as Eco very wisely says, "Going through the physical stuff allows the mind to go through the psychological stuff. I encourage you to get rid of the things you are lugging around to facilitate your getting rid of the ideas you're toting with you."

Currently, I am toting a lot of crap that I don't need. I look forward to being free of it. Even clearing out my favourites tab made me feel... lighter.

I am resolving to really be ruthless about my junk-sorting, to free myself of every damn thing that has no use and brings me no joy. I would like to thank Eco for motivating me to get back to work on de-junking both my space and my mind. There are so many more productive ways I could be using my headspace.