An Incredible Lightness of Being

A new month means new goals.

While I always get excited about dreaming up of what I want to do or accomplish, I learned- actually, I was reminded again- that it really helps if I write things down. It makes the goals more concrete and I feel more accountable for them somehow. While I carried over some previous habits into June- like volunteering again, exercising on a regular basis and having No Spending Days- and started writing every day (even if it is just journaling), I didn’t feel I did anything worthwhile. It sounds silly but meeting those goals wasn’t fun for me because I didn’t give that month’s challenge a name like I did for May- Spring Into Shape, or SIS.

But we learn from our mistakes. And, so, July’s challenge is to attain An Incredible Lightness of Being- or Lightness, for short. I don’t care if it doesn’t really make sense but it sounds nice. So, why Lightness?

July means summer. Hopefully, that big ball of light in the sky will make many appearances in Portland. We celebrate Independence Day and the sky lights up for that one night.

Lightness also refers to losing weight and being healthy. I’m definitely going to keep exercising 4 times a week for at least 30 minutes. Along those lines, I’m going to try vegetarianism this month as well- a single day here and there and then a whole week in mid-July. Hopefully, I can make it a habit to not eat meat at least twice week. (If I’m not lazy, I’ll talk about why I decided to do this in a later post.) And, I’ve always wanted to read up on meditation so it seems like the perfect time to try it out.

Lightness can also be the unburdening of debt. While I’m pretty good with my finances, I’m still going to have at least two No Spending Days a week.

And, to me, lightness of being results from happiness. And, isn’t happiness something we all want in our lives? So, every day this month, I’m going to find at least one thing that I’m grateful for. And, if I can do it in a haiku (a throwback to April’s challenge), so much the better!

What makes this month’s challenge more fun for me is that there’s a book associated with it that practically covers everything I’ve been talking about. I am currently reading “The Art of Happiness” by the Dalai Lama. There seems to be a connectedness with my current interests.

Of course, everyone’s invited to join me in my challenge to find an incredible lightness in being.