Not easy, but worth it

I have to remember that the trail often gets harder before reaching new levels. But I don't long for ease. I crave challenge. #2013 - These are words of wisdom from an actor, philosopher and poet I admire, Curt Mega. The sentiment has been shared and voiced by many others in various ways. But I wanted to take it on and add it to my own life story.

It is the perfect time for a reminder like this as it is that time of year where we all assess what our ambitions and direction will be for the coming year. It is a time when I see the year ahead as being full of possibility and my optimism is at its highest. But in addition my anxiety is also very strong. The recognition that so much of what is ahead is unknown.

I think that those feelings fit perfectly with this saying. As the act of getting my year of goals underway is one of the biggest challenges, just as the journey to achieving those goals is a challenge. But the effort and the challenge always seems to make the achievement that much sweeter.

So it is with this in mind that I put my goals and ideas for the emerging year on paper and send them out into the universe in the hopes that I will find others who share similar ambitions and who want to share or be inspired by the challenging but ultimately rewarding journey.

             1. Participate in a Disability Leadership course - (scared witless by the unknowns of this but so excited by the possibilities of things I will learn, people I will meet and places it might take me.)
             2. Direct a play for the 2013 Fringe Festival or Hamilton Summer Gardens Festival - (less unknown but many challenges including finding collaborators, thinking of doing retelling of NZ childrens stories.)
             3. Working with a local organization to manage or start a food redistribution service to reduce waste from retailers - (not too scary, working with already existing networks. But very scary but exciting challenge would be to create such a service mirrored on Kaibosh in Wellington if there isnt an equivalent in the Waikato/Hamilton.)
             4. Continue working on writing my original fiction novel. - (exciting and enjoyable challenge)

Proceeding forward into this new year I will hold on to my hope, optimism and excitement as a motivation for when the trail gets steep or rough. I know from my past and from others comforting words that every rise has its peak and the steeper and longer the climb the greater the view.