#reverb11

[amandaleduc]

Reverb11: Day 4

Addition through subtraction - What have you let go of this year and how has it affected you? In many ways I suppose I feel like I let Edinburgh go this year. I let go of it in the sense that I stopped, somewhere, at some point, believing that I'd be living back in the city by the end of the year, or even within the next two years. I came back at the end of 2010 thinking that I would apply for an artist visa and be back in the country, back in that most beloved of beloved cities, by the end of 2013. And who knows--maybe that's still a possibility. In some universe. I still think I'm going to get back there, eventually. Be it five years from now, or ten--at some point I'll have my little Scottish life back. Even if it's only a wee beachside flat that I visit four months out of the year. Someday, it will be mine.  But at some point in 2011 I stopped thinking that I wanted to build my career from a Scottish outpost. There are too many connections here in Canada--too many readers, too many literary tweeps, too many coincidences. Maybe that's just a reflection of how small the Canadian publishing scene is; nonetheless, there's something about home that's meant for me, I think. At least right now.  I'm still not at peace with it. Every now and again I'll get struck by a profound sense of homesickness. I'm homesick for my little Scottish house, for my favourite pub, for those friends I dearly miss. I'm homesick for the little grey isle, as cold and unwelcoming and hard as it was. There was no in-between in Scotland--I was either very happy or very depressed, and as odd as this might sound I miss that too.  But! One must move forward. At some point, somehow. Maybe this next year will see me build a little life in Hamilton, one that isn't characterized by the temporariness of subletting a friend's apartment. Maybe there will be a space for me here, one where I can put my books on the walls and have my own furniture out in the open at last. My things have been very patient during the ten years that they've been stuck in the basement. And there have been so many unexpected friends here, so many unexpected little joys. I still miss the city, though. Even now, thinking about it, there's this soft little pocket of sorrow sitting right there in the middle of my collarbone. I'm already thinking about next year's trip. About a sabbatical on Iona. If only, if only ...

[elledeau]

Excerpt: Letter to myself, dated 12.31.13

You finished grad school and you kept making progress at your job. You pursued your favorite artistic activities. You even finally broke your exercise rut...But there's always so much room to do better. Try more. Take risks. Fuck around less. Love more. Take more photos, judge less, keep your promises and start your own fucking business.

I'm doing Embrace13, which is a lot like the Reverb projects, only instead of looking back on the year, you look forward to the year.

I won't share all of my exercises, but I thought this one was particularly fun. Write yourself a letter dated 12.31.13 looking back on 2013. Write about all the awesome things you did.

The idea is that having those things in mind, the things so important you wrote about them in a letter to yourself, will help you focus your attention, energy and efforts throughout the year.

I will let you know how that goes...feel free to participate, I'd love to read other people's thoughts.

[embrace13]

So how does this work?

As promised...here's your 5Ws post!

Who should participate in Embrace 13?

Well the easy answer to that is - anybody. This is a project designed for people who like to take an active role in their lives. We're going to reflect on our decision-making, and our patterns, activities, and habits. From there, we'll figure out strategies and tactics for achieving our goals.

This may be of specific interest to people with personal blogs, those who like to journal, or aspiring/working essayists.

So what is it?

I'm hesitant to call this a series of assignments, but in a way, I guess that's what it is. Each day (or perhaps every other day, or every third day) I will post an exercise - something for you to reflect on, write about, or attempt to implement in your day-to-day life. You should always feel free to only do those that you think pertain to you. Although if I'm doing my job correctly, hopefully most/all of them will.

And where, exactly, am I reflecting on and writing all this stuff?

Of course that's up to you! Some people may feel entirely comfortable blogging all their work. That's perfectly fine and tags will be provided for each exercise, so you can find other people doing the same reflecting and writing. If you're a journal person you may want to get it all down in your journal. That's fine too and likely the tactic I will take. However, never hesitate to share a paragraph or two with us here on tumblr. Again, we can easily find each other using the tags. And, if you think you would just like to read the prompts and contemplate them all in your head, that's fine too! Seriously, whatever works for you. The important thing is that you take charge of your year, and accomplish what you're setting out to accomplish.

I'm so busy already, why would I want to add on more stuff to do?

Only you can answer that, maybe you don't want to. But the truth is, the busiest people can probably benefit the most these exercises. As I said before, we'll be identifying some of our good and bad habits, and patterns. Having the knowledge of these things, can really help a person figure out ways to make the most of their time and be the most efficient and productive.

Fine, you've convinced me...when do we start?

Glad to have you on board! The first exercise will be posted at 11am (EST) tomorrow (January 15, 2013). I will tag EVERYTHING I post here with #embrace13, so if you're worried you may miss a post, please add that to your tracked tags...

Okay, and how do I make sure this is actually beneficial to me?

Well for starters you need to be open and honest in all your answers. Don't give answers or responses you wish were true, give the ones that are true (and we can work on getting you to where you wish you were). If being honest with some things is too personal, don't worry about it. Make those posts private, or write them in a journal or just in a Word doc. You should never share something you're not comfortable with sharing.

That said, if you decide to share any/all of your posts, please make sure to tag them appropriately. Part of what makes exercises like these so enriching is reading what other people share. Someone may share something personal about their life that you realize is applicable to yours. Or perhaps the way someone else articulates something will 'click' with you in a new way. (On that note, invite your friends and followers to participate as well! )

So with that in mind, be open and reserve judgment...of yourself and others. Be open to new ideas and ways of doing things, and don't judge others (or yourself) for ideas and approaches.

I hope I've covered all of your concerns. Feel free to send me an ask if you have more questions. And please note, if you send me an ask and would prefer I don't answer it publicly, please let me know. Also, if you're open to a public response, but with your name removed, let me know that too.

See you tomorrow at 11am for the first exercise...until then!

[embrace13]

Welcome to 2013!

Welcome to Embrace '13! This is something I attempted to do last year, but for a variety of reasons, was unable to. But 2013 is here now (and we've had a couple of weeks to adjust). I'd like to give it another try.

I created this site because I loved doing Reverb10 and Reverb11. I loved the way those projects required participants to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. I realized, though, that it would be useful (to me, at least) to do such work throughout the year.

This site is not designed to provide therapy. I'm not a therapist and I'm in no way promising to solve your problems. However, I do believe that dedicating some time to conscientiously thinking about our choices and how we function as people can help us all in our personal journeys.

Still interested? A who, what, where, why, when and how post is coming soon (within the hour...Stayed tuned! And I hope to you participating. Happy 2013, let's embrace the year!

[jcslife]

How did you #resound11? This is how I did. Happy New Year!

What a month it was? Yes it's a New Year but I'm grateful I took the time to #resound11 and it did help slow the month from just ending with out some self reflection and hopefully being a place to look back at. I wrote every day and followed along with each prompt. Read one or read them all. Come back once or come back often! I enjoyed the journey and I hope you enjoy reading. Which do you do you like best? Which spoke to you? Do you agree, disagree? It took me full circle and helped transition 2011 to 2012. I hope for a succefull year. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll agree Callejas thinks it's all going to work out. 

1. One Word

2. Vices

3. Virtues

4. Superpower

5. Theme Song

6. Thelma & Louise

7. Achievement Unlocked

8. Catch Phrase

9. Best Photo

10. High/Low

11. Best Meal

12. 12 in 12

13. Best Gift

14. Home is...

15. Discovery

16. Ordinary Extraordinary

17. Appreciate

18. Tradition

19. Then & Now

20. Elevator Speech

21. Embrace

22. Identify The Problem

23. Today Is All You Have

24. Try

25. All Is Love

26. Outro

27. Everything Is Going To Be OK

28. Five Things

29. Let Go

30. Future Self

31. One Word

[jcslife]

#resound11 ~ December 31, 2011: One Word

One Word: Earlier this month, we wrote about our one word to describe 2011. Today, let's write about our one word for 2012. What word do you want to use to describe how you will approach 2012?

My word for 2011 if you look back through all my December post was Difficult. Now by no means do I expect nor would I want for 2012 to be easy. That's not what I would constitute to be a happy year. I don't think Life is easy and boy do I want to "live" this year. I want every day to be successful. OK so every single day may not be perfect and I know that chasing for perfection will alone be my downfall but it can be a success if I learn and improve on what made that particular day less than perfect. 

If I string enough successful days together it will make for an incredible and most importantly successful year. At the end of the year though for things I need to be certain for it to be a succeful year is being with my son and wife. 

So here's to 2012 and Success!!!!!!!

[jcslife]

#resound11 ~ December 30, 2011: Future Self

Future Self: Today, write a letter to your future self to read on 12/30/12. Write about what you have accomplished. Write about who you are and who you have become. Write a wishlist.

Hey Jose, 

Can you freaken believe that another year flew by. Well I'll start by wishing you a Happy New Year. So what a year huh. I'm proud of your Marathon runs I'm glad Los Angeles went a lot better than in 2011 but to fit in another marathon along with the Spartan Races and the triathlons awesome. With that schedule of course you finally came under 200 lbs. Here's to hopiing Christmas didn't push you back over. 

I hope Kalel is still the happy kid I'm looking at now. He's kicking but in 3rd grade and well on his way to mastering those skills. I'm of the belief there is no reason to hold him back because of his age. He's got two great parents in the two of you and he will be be fine. I know it's harder for you to stay involved with the new job but you've done a hell of job and I give credit to the everything you learned over such an extended period of unemployment. 

I wanted to ask what your favorite trip was this year. For me it was San Francisco. Maybe it was the longer drive we decided to take up the coast. Maybe it was because it was a bit of time off. After all the running. It was perfect heading to Northern Cali after spring heading south for both Spartan and Ragner. Besides you know how much the wife loves Bubba, but more importantly being taken somewhere with out having to stress about the decision. So good call on that.

Well get going! I hope you have something awesome planned for tomorrow night. Dare I ask if you made it out to New York? 

Jose 

[jcslife]

#resound11 ~ December 29, 2011: Let Go

Let Go: What did you let go of in 2011? What was the experience like? How is your life different today? Do you ever regret it?

The one thing I let go of is the notion that I need food for pleasure and the adoption of the idea that it is for fuel. I need to work on this but I truly believe that just being aware of this is incredibly life changing. 

It was like anything else hard at first and although I have some relapses it is getting easier and I expect it that by this time next year it will be completely under control. I feel better this year than I did this same time last year and am about 30 pounds lighter to boot. 

I do regret it sometimes because I do clearly remember taking great pleasure in a slice of pizza or a jelly donut and I can clearly report that although I still crave it and indulge from time to time. It is no where near as appealing as it once was. 

I suspect that letting go completely of this will knock off the last 20 lbs and 2013 should find me in much better place.