Happy New Year! The calendar has moved forward and we are all now living in the year 2017!
I love New Year; it’s like getting the keys to a new car. Where shall I go? What shall I do? What new adventures will I tackle and what new discoveries are waiting?
On the world stage this year there will likely be many surprises, but let’s not travel along that path into that political minefield. We may never find our way home again!
In my small corner of the world, all is well, and this year will be a milestone for me – I’m not going to share why, other than to say, the number six may be involved come September.
There’s an old adage that says “how you spend the start of your year is reflective of how you will spend the whole of your year”.
To that end, I decided to take some time to relax and think about what’s important to me, and catch up on some reading. Just after the holidays, where the days are still short and the nights long, is always the perfect time to tuck into the books I received for Christmas.
Today I am thoroughly enjoying, “How to Live a Good Life” by Jonathan Fields. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to know the answer to that question and Jonathan has lots of pearls of wisdom to share. I love the way he uses ‘buckets’ as a metaphor because everyone seems to have a bucket list of some kind, or at least be familiar with the concept.
To make our thinking process easier, Jonathan provides us with three main life buckets – connection, contribution, and vitality. The relevant ingredients for each of these bucket categories are presented in an inventive and engaging manner and at the end of each unit, Jonathan also offers juicy, doable activities for personal exploration.
The book is a fun read, and, yet, at the same time, deeply insightful. For example, I learned how to take a forest bath, find my four loves, and got out of my head for a short while (Wow, that was refreshing!).
The buckets have three laws. They will leak, your emptiest bucket will drag the others down, and the buckets never lie. Or, as Jonathan says, empty means empty.
Which is why it’s important to circle around and top up the buckets, to avoid any of them running dry.
Difficult events in life are bound to happen; we get ill, lose our job, a parent dies, our heart gets broken and more. Circumstances will dent our buckets and poke holes in them – it’s inevitable. Our job is to be mindful of our life buckets and to tend to them with great care.
After reading, How to Live a Good Life, I’m rethinking about what I’m going to put in my buckets in 2017, and consider how I’ll keep them topped up. If you don’t know of Jonathan’s work, be sure and stop by his website the Good Life Project, trust me, you’ll be glad that you did.
Whew, all this talk about buckets has got me thirsty, so I’m off to tend to my vitality bucket.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy year ahead, and may your 2017 life buckets remain full.
