A Moment to Breathe

Welcome to the 30 Days of Change Blog Carnival hosted by Living Peacefully With Children and Hybrid Rasta Mama. In celebration of the New Year and forgotten resolutions , we’re sharing the results of our 30 day commitment to addressing one habit the we either needed to eliminate, reframe, or include in our life. We hope you are inspired and energized to make one positive change in your own habits.

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I never stop. I am always working on some project, doing something, or multi-tasking. I also have a difficult time saying “no” when people ask for help or when I see a need in my family or community. My husband once asked me what I thought would happen if I ever stopped doing something. I laughed it off, but it was a serious question: one I couldn’t answer before.

At the end of 2012, I decided that I wanted to change some of my habits in an attempt to make myself, and hence my life, better. They, whoever they are, say it takes a month to make or break a habit. that sounded like a workable goal for me, and so 30 Days of Change was born. Each month I plan to focus on some other aspect in my life that I want to change. I’m making my goals small so that I feel that I can accomplish them and make a sincere effort to improve my life.

January’s challenge was to take a moment to breathe every day. It took a lot of effort for me to slow down and make some time each day. Some times those moments were found with me sitting early in the morning with a cup of tea before my children awoke. Others were found soaking in the bath tub in between questions from my lovely inquisitive kids. Still others were sandwiched in between pages that I was reading. Still others were taken after everyone was snuggled up asleep. I didn’t set an SOP for my moment to breathe. I just looked for a moment in the day to slow down for a bit.

I learned a few things over the past month. I learned that while I am not particularly a morning person, I actually accomplish more when I get up early and start with those moments of just being. I also learned the answer to my husband’s question.

I didn’t grow up in the best of situations. Even as a small child, I believed that my only value was in how I could help or protect others. I spent my childhood trying to make the lives of others easier and to protect the people I loved. That feeling didn’t change when I grew up. I think in some ways, I am still trying to be of value to others, because I haven’t valued myself as a person deserving of anything. Taking a moment to breathe has opened up so many things for me. I’m looking forward to making other healthy changes in my life this year: not only to have better habits but to also grow as a person.

Please take a moment to visit the blogs of our other 30 Days of Change Blog Carnival participants. The links in this list will be updated by the end of the day.

• Finishing off 2012 depressed and negative, Survivor decided to start 2013 off with positive actions and attitudes. In her blog Surviving Mexico, watch as she discovers how to overcome the disasters and find the adventures in living again.
• Mrs Green from Little Green Blog spent her month not just meditating, but prioritizing it in her life …
• In The LoCo Locavore Takes OVER, our family went completely local for 30 days… IN JANUARY. Read about how we fared on our local fare. Spoiler alert! We didn’t starve. You can also find Wide Awake, Half Asleep on Facebook.
• Mari from Honey on the Bum relates how she came to the conclusion that she should stop picking apart her body, and figuratively, her life, and briefly discusses some challenges on the way.
• Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares how she made two changes; stepping outside of her “comfort food shopping zone” and starting a food storage program. You can also find Jennifer on Facebook.
• Mercedes at Project Procrastinot demonstrates new sticktoitiveness when she joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge in January. You can also find Project Procrastinot on Facebook.
• Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy can be overwhelming. Join with Shannon at GrowingSlower as she takes back control of her health during her second pregnancy, all while parenting a toddler!You can also find Growing Slower on Facebook.
• At Living Peacefully with Children, Mandy has been working on making time every day just to breathe and be.