Here's to Your Flourishing Year!
“Do you want to flourish in the garden of life?
Life's gardeners pluck the weeds and care only for the productive plants.”
~ Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life
When I think about the word "flourish," an image of a vibrantly alive garden always comes to mind. I think about the lush green colors of leaves, the crisp ripe fruits and vegetables bursting from the vines and branches, and the sweet scents of flowers wafting through the air. I think about the bright colors of life in full bloom, the sounds of birds chirping, and sunshine dancing through the leaves. I remember that when one garden has a flourishing harvest, it supports the entire ecosystem around it, the animals and humans that receive its nourishment and delight in its abundance, as well as the soil that will be replenished when the older fruits go to rot and compost. And finally, I think about how this image of flourishing applies to our human lives, asking what would my life look like as a flourishing garden at peak harvest?
While contemplating what seeds I would need to plant and water in order to have a flourishing life as richly beautiful as this image of the garden, I began to create the Flourishing Year process. How can I tend the soils of my life, compost that which is ready to be released, and use the nutrients I gain from that to support my growth? How can I root down into my core truths, my values, and what matters most to me, so that I can grow ever more into the person I am meant to be? What is the garden I wish to grow this year? What fruits do I wish to harvest?
These are the questions of Your Flourishing Year Bundle, and if you're curious to learn more, I recommend checking out the sale that is currently happening! This year I added new elements, turning this into a richer and more helpful program. I created a series of recorded audio visualizations to go along with different sections of the workbook that help you really dive into this material. There is also an audio welcome that explains how to go through the program plus additional worksheet practices.
I just finished filling out the workbook myself, which I created a couple years ago after months and months of researching every goal-setting, end-of-year-review, and new year planning guide, workbook, and online course I could find. I synthesized many different approaches to living your best life, planning your year, setting intentions and achieving goals and incorporated them into a workbook and program. And sitting down to go through the process myself has been quite clarifying and nourishing.
This year has held many challenges with my chronic health issues and so giving myself the time to pause and review all I've gone through this year and go through this process has helped me find the beauty in the difficulties, get clear and focused on the upcoming year, and honor and celebrate what I've accomplished. I joyfully invite you to give yourself the gift of reflection time as well! Whether it is through the support and guidance of this workbook or something else entirely, it is a beautiful practice to pause and check in with yourself, re-align, adjust course where necessary, and tend to your inner garden so that it may flourish.
"When we tend to the areas of life that are important to us, when we make those things a priority, that's when we will flourish in those areas." ~ Victoria Osteen
Tips for filling out your workbook: I filled out my workbook on my computer using a program I bought a number of years ago called PDF Expert, which allows me to write directly on PDFs on my computer. I think that Adobe Acrobat Reader allows this as well and has a monthly fee. I created my vision boards as well as my year recap collage using a free website called Photo Joiner. I listened to my top songs of the year and even had a little flourishing year gathering where a few of us filled out our workbooks together and discussed the weeds that get in the way of our dreams fully blossoming.
As we each take the time to live more intentional, aligned, and conscious lives that are rooted in our core values and deepest truths, it helps not just every area of our life blossom and flourish, but the more we flourish, the more that create ripples in the world! And of course, that is what The PeaceRipples Institute is all about!
I didn't create these gifs, but they sure fill me with wonder. The miracle of life and the fact that a tiny seed can grow into a giant tree is truly awe-inspiring!
Want a sneak peak into the start of the workbook? This is only the first few sections, but it will give you an idea....
