#17 - The January Newsletter: Intentional Living in 2024
A new year, a new beginning. I've got 7 main intentions for this new year that have me feeling quite hopeful and excited :)
Maybe you don’t have intentions or goals for 2024. Maybe you do. Either ways, it’s completely okay. I know that it can be overwhelming to have a list or to feel like you have to start anew in a new year.
You get to decide what your intentions are for 2024.
Personally, I’m excited about the prospect of a new year and grateful that 2023 is over - a year that had been challenging, full of healing and curveballs.
I’m aware it’s possible this new year can be a repeat of the same, however I'm looking to take my learnings from this past year into a new beginning.
Before I begin, a quote that caught my attention earlier this month was something I’d like to share:
And something about it really spoke to me. As someone who looks back on her past quite a bit, this idea just felt poignant and bittersweet at the same time. Not to mention in reading this quote, there’s something that makes me feel starkly aware of the sense that you really can’t change your past. No matter how much you want to.
It doesn’t mean you can’t think differently about your past though. And especially for those who have regrets, self-forgiveness feels key.
And now, looking towards 2024 and my intentions for the year ahead.
These intentions aren’t in any specific order mind you, but the first one is pretty high up on the list.
#1 - Lean into intentional rest
I’ve come to the realisation recently that whilst I give myself breaks every now and again, and I am kind to myself, I don’t know if I lean into intentional rest. And ever since the middle of 2021, my time in Dubai with life and healing has been a constant source of struggle. Through the moments of joy there have been challenges these past two years and it feels like life has pretty much whizzed by.
Whilst the years have taught me resilience and self-love, expanding on this part of my journey certainly looks like intentionally leaning into rest.
It is in the spaces of rest you rejuvenate and recover your soul.
I would like the kind of rest where I soak in moments of nature, read, and just do nothing.
When I turned 30 in Mauritius I had no choice but to spend time with myself and do very little, because I was recovering from an illness. This which meant a lot of long walks, reading old favourites, and immersing myself in the beauty of the Indian Ocean.
This is something I’d like to do more for myself in 2024.
Intentional rest.
#2 - Continue to write
I started writing in October of 2023. My plan was to just write once a month in the format of a newsletter and keep it at that. But the more I researched into Substack and the more time I spent with myself, I realised that I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one piece a month.
These last several months have given me so much joy in my writing.
The times when I wake up and I have an idea or I’m out at the beach and I watch the words flow out have been incredibly joyous. Some of my favourite pieces include wanting to buy tomatoes from a local vendor in Rajasthan and my tender letter to my 5-year old self.
So I have hope and confidence for the year to come when it comes to my writing. :)
#3 - Feel more energised in the morning
I used to be such a morning person. The kind of person that would wake up feeling fresh and ready to tackle the day and get so much done in the morning. (Yes, I was that annoying person that didn’t need coffee to start her day.)
Unfortunately in the last year I’ve felt more anxiety and exhaustion in the morning than energy.
And I’d like love for that to change.
This doesn’t mean I’d like to rush through my morning (a habit I clearly fell into when I was younger). I still enjoy slow mornings with my ginger tea. Taking my time out to journal, meditate and nurture myself with my skincare rituals all feel like such easeful ways to start my day.
I will admit, I am hopeful that moving away from Dubai will be able to help me in that journey. Waking up in a less stressful environment, a new place, and fewer background noises…
The grass really is greener on the other side.
The space for hope enters given the shifts I’ve noticed in my recent travels.
Nature makes the world of a difference.
So I shall keep this intention with hope and a soft heart. I shall allow myself to flow with what life shall bring to me in the upcoming year.
#4 - Work on becoming stronger and more agile
I think that there can be a sense of judgement sometimes when it comes to having fitness goals within a New Year. There’s almost a sense of “Oh but that’s so old school, come up with something new.”
It appears to be typecast and unfashionable.
On a side note, I also think that there are “trendy” intentions or goals when it comes to a new year. And we forget that we have the choice of deciding what we want our new year to look like.
So in case you need the reminder…
You own your power and your decisions.
Genuinely though, this is an intention of mine. I love feeling strong and fit and I love exercising. (And yes I’m that annoying person here too, but with the enjoyment of coffee now).
I love seeing how my body moves.
The dopamine kick and the time I devote to myself to nurture my body feels healing, and it reminds me how lucky I am that my body does so much for me.
I also love feeling connected with my body and heart, from any sort of movement I do. It feels like a reminder of just how fortunate I am to be alive. And I’ll take the time and energy to nourish and take care of my body and heart for what she does for me.
I’m looking forward to trying out new activities, particularly looking at aerial yoga and dance. :)
#5 - Lead with curiosity and compassion
Whilst I do believe I have an empathetic side to me, I also know I have my moments of impatience and moments where the assumptions are quick to come to mind. One of the things I think about - post reaction with clarity or thought - is how I could’ve led with curiosity or compassion in a particular interaction with a friend of loved one.
So this is what I would like to challenge myself to this year.
Instead of being quick to assume, I’d like to lead with curiosity. And I believe it’ll make a world of a difference for the conversations coming my way.
#6 - Connect with myself more
I have so many questions for 2024. One of the questions that came to me as I landed in Malawi completely took me by surprise though.
I’ve packed up most of my things in Dubai and I’m taking the next month to focus on a couple of things, including a photography exhibition and leaning into landscape photography for some other projects (I’ll share more about this in another post!)
Considering this, there should be a lot of excitement and joy.
But after packing up the apartment I’ve stayed at for the last ten years, and knowing I’m going to be travelling around East Asia and a bit of Africa for most of this year, I’m left with a sudden despairing and departing thought:
Where and what is home for me?
And this is the piece that came to me when I was thinking about it earlier today:
So this must be what it feels like. To not know, what or where home feels like.
Malawi had been home with the abundance of nature and my family here, and then as I grew into adulthood, that shifted.
India never felt like home, but my recent trip to Rajasthan and being able to speak Hindi made me feel inexplicably connected to a country I didn't grow up in.
Dubai wasn't a home I ever considered, but I had my tribe there which always, always helped.
So where or what is home?
As I sit amongst the space of tiredness and recognise the distractions I've been turning to since I've landed (Thank you Big Bang Theory), this is the question I'm coming back to.
And whilst I feel grateful I do have the safety of my own home within my own body, there is a sense of belonging that is missing.
Curiosity and grief are intermingled here, leaving me with a feeling of being lost.
I quite literally just feel... Lost.
And is that a bad thing? I don't know.
But it is disconcerting.
I feel like this is the year I’ll come closer to the answer. And I’m trying to allow myself to feel comfortable with not knowing what a concrete answer will look like.
#7 - I want to say yes more.
And this one last intention I’m going to save for my post coming out later in the week given there’s a lot more context I’d like to give. But yes, I do want to say ‘yes’ more often.
Curious about this? Maybe that will be one of your intentions for the coming year. 🤓
Other than that, I can’t wait to share more of what life, self-love and the journey in 2024 looks like for me! This year will certainly be interesting as I spend time reconnecting to myself and the possibility of new and meaningful connections.
With lots of love, hope and sunshine,
Athira