December 7, 2011

Come Play with Me: 2


Today is another special day. I'm absolutely elated to present to you the second (of what I hope is many) Come Play With Me Guest Posts! And this one is from a newer blogging pal of mine, the first to actually submit a post to me, Jennifer from Just Jennifer

Jennifer's gonna talk about what she's learned in 2011 and how she's gonna apply it moving forward- and it's a lesson that we all can take advantage of learning about (IMO, of course):

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When I saw what Christina suggested that other bloggers write about for her I was stumped.

“What are you looking forward to in 2012?  What is something you’re taking from 2011 and tucking in your memory pocket for later?”

I did the ole Winnie the Pooh “think, think, think” bit and managed to come up with something.

The older I get the more I notice running themes in my life.  Sometimes they’re even yearly themes.  In 2011 I believe my keywords were OPEN and SHED.

Not like open the shed!  Duh.  I mean, I learned to BE OPEN and SHED CRAP.

Shedding the crap from one’s life is hard.  Things like insecurities, resentments, expectations.  They have a strong hold.  But for me this year, I have felt so many of these things falling away from who I am.

I wish I could tell you how this is happening, but I really don’t know.  It could be experience and wisdom.  It could be perspective.  The perspective I get from loving someone with health problems.  I’m thinking it’s a combo of these.

I noticed the being open part when I basically “went public” with my blogging.  It was always technically public, but I wasn’t actively trying to grow my blog into something more than my personal journal until I had been doing it over a year.

Once I stepped out of my box, a whole new world opened up to me and I’m loving it.  As I began discovering more, I became open to the possibilities that lay before me.  And I feel like it’s become a new motto to live by: just be open to the possibilities.

In short, I am open without expectation.  Does that make any sense?

And moving forward into 2012, all I hope for is more of the same.  That I continue to learn and grow and change, stay open and keep shedding the unnecessary crap I carry around.

Thank you, Christina, for the opportunity to write this.  I’m glad I was open to it!  :-)

Jen is submitting this post to Lovelinks #35.
 
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It's amazing how being open and shedding the crap can empower a person, eh? I think if more people did this, we'd all get along a bit better because it may allow us to just move forward instead of holding grudges. But what do I know?

I do know that Jennifer is good people- and we have a lot in common. And that's reason enough for you to go and check her and her story out.
 
Thanks for playing, Jen!

18 comments:

  1. Great post. :) I need to shed some stuff.

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  2. Ack! I used the wrong "right" at the beginning. Should be "write". Oh I hate typos! Quick, Christina, fix it please, before my head explodes!

    I really kind of love this piece and I hope your readers do to. Thank you for letting me come play with you!

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  3. Another great post Jen with one "n"!

    I think that being open and shedding some of the crap that clutters up life is a great goal for me for 2012 . . . so I am just going to go ahead and steal it from ya! :)
    Jenn

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  4. This is such great topic and writing. ALso 'open the shed' made me laugh. Only Jen can do that, make me laugh while talking serious and teaching life lessons :)

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  5. Great post! "In short, I am open without expectation."- Love that!

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  6. great post and definitely a great message... I love it!

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  7. Ooohhh...I need to remember those keywords this next year as well. Great reminders!

    And I agree, this blogging thing has opened up a whole new world!

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  8. Great post. I have really loved watching the transformation with you. It's great knowing you are living and learning.

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  9. These are great goals. I'm working on both as well. But I'm also trying to shed physical crap and clutter from our house too. :)

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  10. Being open without expectation is easier said than done with me, but it's something that I'm always striving for. For me the ultimate goal is connectedness, not just in blogging, but in life. If I feel connected, I feel happy, and if I feel disconnected, I don't.
    +followed

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  11. This was great, Jennifer! I'm all for shedding crap!

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  12. Love it, J! I shed the crap (shedded the crap?) a few years ago on some things and it was so freeing. I love how you talked about it today. Can't wait to see what 2012 brings!

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  13. It is amazing how much better you feel when you decide you're just going to let stuff go and not worry about it!

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  14. Let's start a new Winnie-the-Pooh movement, Shed the Crap. www.shedthecrap.com?
    (-:

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  15. Shedding the unnecessary and being more open - two lifelong goals if you ask me! I feel like I work on these at a snail's pace, but any movement is better than stagnation, I suppose.

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  16. I love this open and shed philosophy. I need to start doing that more. I feel like I've come a long way since one year ago, but there's always more I can do!

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  17. I loooove Just Jennifer. What great advice: Shed the Crap! I cannot shed enough crap.

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