All Things Go

Surfrrosa
Dec 31, 2023
5 min read

Updated: Jan 1, 2024

Something I've noticed about myself lately is that I do a lot more things with intention. I've started to state an intention before I begin a project, before sleeping, before meditating, and a lot of other things. So, I thought it would be pertinent to also do so for New Year's Eve. I've always loved NYE because I love new beginnings. My favorite quote ever is from the movie Vanilla Sky.

"Every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around."

There is so much vision and opportunity, and there's something romantic thinking about so many people taking a moment in time to dream together. I've accomplished many dreams that I've had throughout my life, and it's only because I take dreaming very seriously. So, here, I thought I would take a quick review of the past year as well as the upcoming.

Things I learned in 2023

Slow down. This has been a while in the making, but in my time traveling, I know that I want to spend longer periods of time in the places I go. I don't want to move around as quickly as what I have been. Everywhere I go, I just fall in love with the place, and I want to spend more time forming deeper relationships with the people and places I visit.
When is enough, enough. There are some aspects of my life I've tried very hard to hold onto over the past couple of years, and they're past their expiration date. The universe has given me glimpses of what I really want to do in this life, and I hope I can take forward more willingness to let go of the things that just aren't for me to make room for things that are.
Trust. Trust was the biggest theme for me in 2023. I think back to all the signs I saw in Thailand before heading back to stateside and laugh. There were signs and graffiti everywhere in Chiang Mai that literally said "Trust." I knew it was important at the time, so I took photos as a reminder for future me. Looking back, it was truly the biggest theme throughout my year. I have climbed many levels of trust over 2023 and hope to apply it this upcoming year. The sooner and more easily I let go, the sooner and more easily I move forward.
Create. Every year that goes by, I only wish I had spent more time creating. All the things I create inspire me when I look back upon them. They bring up beautiful memories, laughs, friendships, obstacles, and remind me of what I want going forward. I love having photos, videos, writing, paintings, and all the things I do to look back on, because they put me right back in those moments. I can look back and remember exactly where I was, what I was feeling, what I was doing, and everything that was happening around me when I'm creating. There is no better source from which to create than the beauty of those moments.
Relationships. 2023 was a year that my friend and familial relationships were highlighted, and it has been a pleasure to turn my attention to the people around me. I want to make sure my relationships carry even more weight going forward, regardless of how far or near I am. I hope to be more communicative overall, in every area of my life.

I could probably go on and on about things I've learned over the past year, but I think it's even more important to take all the lessons I've integrated to start looking ahead. When I dream of the future, I usually just come up with themes, experiences, or feeling that I want and let the universe take care of the rest. I leave a lot of room for creativity, because who knows better than the universe, really? Also, that leaves room for it to come in many different forms, and I like surprises.

Things I hope for in 2024

Purpose. I hope to find more purpose in living throughout 2024. What I really hope is to make my work an extension of my life. Let's be honest, there is no work/life balance. Life is far more important than work, but what I can do is encapsulate my work within my life and make it seamless. Ideally, I'd like to eliminate the word 'work' from my life altogether. Meaning that I want to do something I'm so passionate about I can call it life.
Health. I always take health into account, because I know none of the other things are possible without the foundation of good health. I hope to keep my wellbeing in mind throughout the next year and leave ample time for rest. The last couple years have been intense, and I am advocating for more balance in my energy for 2024.
Creativity. This goes hand in hand with balance and traveling more slowly. Lots of people call lulls of time boredom. For me, downtime is the recipe for creativity. I have noticed that I need more downtime while traveling so I can put my creativity to better use. My greatest ideas come disguised as boredom and surface in comfort. My creativity is used to shake things up again.
Peace. I've been cultivating more and more peace in my life over the last few years. I feel lucky that I have a lot of peace in my life, but it's something I first started working on in myself long ago. I hope to keep working on this peace and have it resonate from deep within, into all areas of my life.
Freedom. I am navigating a big shift in my life in terms of what I'll be doing with my life going forward. It is going to mean physical sacrifice for some time, but that will be a fine trade off for the psychological and emotional freedom that will come with time. This is going to be the biggest shift I've made in my life yet, and it is entirely in hopes of bringing more freedom and peace into my life.
Empowerment. In the actions I take during the upcoming year in my own life, I hope empower myself. In empowering myself, I hope to help to empower others. I hope to find endless ways to help others find their own empowerment, both internally and externally. I hope to lean into the trust I have for myself and others.
Truth. I am always trying to find new ways to live life more authentically. I hope to bring even more alignment into my life this year. I hope to live my life as truthfully as possible, and what that means to me is I hope to embody even more 'me' than I ever have before. As I go forward, I allow myself full self expression of the parts of me I discover along the way. And I allow full self expression of the parts of me I already know.
Expectations. I hope to release any conscious and unconscious expectations that I might have for the upcoming year and be even more present. I hope that I can replace any expectations with only my intentions and be proud of those. If I do run into disappointments, I hope that I learn something from them and approach them with total compassion.

I ended up writing 8 intentions, because this year is an 8 in numerology. This should be an amazing year full of wonder and surprise. It's going to be a rollercoaster of a year, and I'm absolutely here for it. Anyway, time for the cabbage rolls.