101 in 1001

If you have followed my blog(s) for a while you'll know that I have made 2 previous 101 in 1001 lists. Not long after making them though I always realized my flaws in what I included in them. The first one I made a few years ago I was with my ex. At that time we were relatively happy in our relationship so I included him in a lot of my goals. But when we broke up there was no way I was going to be able to complete the goals that included him. So I made a second one. When writing it I was fresh out of a breakup and wanted to focus on my success in the world. Therefore I included a lot of goals about making my photography business work. You can probably see where this is going. Now that I am not continuing with my photography business I felt like I needed a new list.

So I made my third and final list. Well for the next 1001 days it will be final. I tried to focus on me. I didn't include other people in it. I didn't focus on any goals for my career. This is 100% all about things I want to do for me. So here it goes :)

1. Get one of my photos printed on canvas
2. Go to a social networking event
3. Take a photo of me with my grandparents
4. Complete a 50 self portrait project
5. Organize my photos
6. Complete my photo wall
7. Go to the Calgary Stampede
8. Read 150 books
9. Take a homeless person out for lunch
10. Make my own wine
11. Paint a canvas
12. Tour a lavender farm
13. Go sky diving
14. Take a yoga teacher training
15. Plant a tree on Earth Day
16. Knit an afghan
17. Bake a vegan cheesecake
18. Go vegan for a month
19. Bike the cabot trail
20. Get tattoos touched up
21. Get sunflower/violet tattoo
22. Make pottery
23. Donate blood
24. Donate plasma
25. Send a balloon message into the sky
26. Do yoga 6 days a week for 6 months
27. Run a 10km race
28. Pay off all debt
29. Complete all 3 reiki attunements
30. Learn 1 song on piano
31. Learn basic Spanish, French or Italian
32. Vacation down south
33. Spend a long weekend in PEI
34. Have a picnic on Citadel Hill
35. Go to Treego
36. Reach 500 twitter followers
37. Make cake pops
38. Make body butter
39. Move out of my parent's house
40. Change the oil in my car
41. Sell something on Etsy
42. Join a book club
43. Build my own altar
44. Make a mala for 5 people
45. Build a snowman
46. Skate on the oval
47. Blog 3 restaurant reviews
48. Host a giveaway on my blog
49. Attend the midnight premiere of a movie
50. Save $3000
51. Plan a trip to India
52. Photograph lightning
53. Launch a new website/blog (revamp current)
54. Ride in a hot air balloon
55. Go mud sliding
56. Go sledding
57. Go tidal bore rafting
58. Go snorkeling
59. Build a bird house
60. Volunteer
61. Host a dinner party
62. Go to a swanky New Years Eve party
63. Sleep under the stars
64. Do sky trails
65. Keep a my day in 6 words journal for at least 4 weeks
66. Learn to roll sushi
67. Play hide and seek with at least 10 friends in Ikea
68. Plant a window box herb garden
69. Try 20 new recipes
70. Make soy candles
71. Make incense
72. Send flowers anonymously to a friend in need
73. Go swimming at night in the ocean
74. Do a corn maze
75. Go to a sunflower upick
76. Have a book signed by the author
77. Watch the sun rise and set in the same day
78. Actually mail birthday cards for 1 year
79. Visit the grand canyon
80. Swim in another ocean
81. Cook an Indian meal from scratch
82. Buy a pair of cow boy boots
83. Have a tarot card reading
84. Spend an afternoon reading at the beach by myself
85. Attend 10 mysore classes
86. Write a letter to someone that inspires me
87. Visit the Rockies
88. Get a massage
89. Complete my Style Statement
90. Audit a class at Dal/any university
91. Unplug for a whole weekend
92. Go kayaking
93. Host a costume/theme party
94. Say "yes" to everything for 1 day
95. Donate $3 for every goal not completed
96.  
97.  
98.  
99.  
100.  
101.  

I left the last couple empty so that I can fill them in along the way. The list officially started on September 15th, 2011 and will end on May 21st, 2014. I'm going to try to blog about as many of these as I can as I complete them and every couple of months I'll probably post an update about which ones have been completed. I challenge everyone to try this themselves. It can be a lot of fun to plan what you want to do for the next 2.5 years.

Struggles

Today I read a really inspiring article about the Goddess Akhilandeshvari from Hindu mythology. I don't know much about Hindu mythology (although it would be interesting to learn more about) but this article touched me in a peculiar way.

If you break down Akhilandeshvari it means the Goddess of never not broken. Never not broken... always broken. There are a lot of people in this world that inspire me. Friends, family, celebrities, etc. But it is always the yogis that I find touch me in a unique way. I normally end up following their blog or twitter account and assume that everything in their life is perfect. They've got this whole thing called life figured out. Which surprisingly is pretty depressing as I am so far from perfect it's kind of a joke. I make mistakes. I fall. I have those days where I just don't want to get out of bed because of family issues or drama that's happening in my life. It has taken me a long time to realize that everyone, literally everyone, has moments in their lives that are like this. It is normal. And it should be seen not as a miserable time in your life, but as a time for recreation.

Akhilandeshvari derives her power from being broken. She teaches us that by being broken we never have the limitations of being whole. We can constantly rebuild, shape and sculpt who we are as people. Broken-ness can help us to rid our lives of the toxic routines that as a race we normally cling to. I don't know about you but I have always striven for routines in my life. Weather that be in my work, personal, or yogic life. Routine can sometimes be boring but it can also provide familiarity and comfort. I think it is human nature to strive for these things in our lives.

When you are broken your routines and comforts become screwed up. You get the opportunity to recreate what you want to do, where you want to go, who you want to share your life with. By never being not broken you can makes these choices until your very last breath. I find this truly inspiring. It's one of the best examples of taking a situation and turning it from negative to positive.

A friend of mine is moving to the other side of the country in the next few days. We went for coffee to catch up before he left not too long ago and I was shocked by what he said to me. We were talking about our careers and how I'm having a hard time deciding on what I want to do in my life. There are so many restrictions financially, physically, mentally, etc that I feel are holding me back. He called bullshit and told me that I am letting them control me. He said that I need to make a decision about something that I truly love and run with it. Make it work instead of making reasons why it won't work. If it doesn't end up working then oh well. You start over again. He pointed out all of the comforts that I hold on to in my life. The routines, the luxuries. He told me about how he was in the same place in his life only a few months ago but by taking the risk to go for what he really wanted to do in life the universe rewarded him with getting it. He is now moving to Vancouver to further his career as an actor/director/producer in hopes of eventually going to Hollywood.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all have moments in our lives where we feel at our lowest. Where it seems like everything is going wrong. But it is in these moments that we get to choose a new path for our life and to run with it. We shed our life of the bad relationships, bad jobs, or bad habits that we form and we recreate ourselves. Just remember that this process should never end. We should never be not broken.