In the hustle and bustle of the new year, remember to commit to yourself (Patreon)

Hey, it's Mir.

It's early (early, early!) on the first business day of the year, and I'm sitting in the home office on my second cup of coffee already, trying to catch up.

I traditionally spend the last week of each year camping. Even in tight times, I find camping is a great way to find restoration and expansiveness. This year, I was delighted to find a spot out in the southern California desert with a truly exceptional starry sky and -- get this! -- enormous pools filled with hot spring water. (All this for less than my local NorCal campgrounds! Amazing!)

Getting away isn't the challenge during the quiet of the end of year. Heck, coming back isn't the challenge. (I truly love my work, even in hard times.)

The challenge is holding on to that sense of expansiveness as the new week, month, and year arrive.

Perhaps you're feeling the same way.

My recommendations today:

Take a moment to breathe. There's nothing that can't wait for 90 seconds while you have a moment to be present. Most things will even be better if you can come back to them more present.

Remember who you are. Most of us can't be fully "out" at work, whether that's about our full queer selves, our poly families, or our kink resolutions. It's okay to make strategic decisions about what we disclose and where. But we don't need to lose our sense of self to do that.

Make a promise to yourself for time to be yourself. Make a commitment. Is there a class you really want to take? A part of your city or countryside you've wanted to explore? A practice you want to take up? Schedule some time for it. Just setting aside 15 minutes a day for a personal practice or a time of reflection on days off can be a way to keep a sense of expansiveness in the hustle and bustle.

If part of your commitment to yourself this year is expanding kink knowledge, I hope that we can be of service to you. Never hesitate to reach out for help connecting with community! (Usually you can email me but . . . maybe not this week! Our FetLife messages might be quicker till I pile through my own backlog.)

Happy new year, and hang in there today -

Mir

PS: If you need a little structure to stay true to yourself this week, I'll be allowing late registration to our Creating & Cultivating a Daily Practice for Kinksters course throughout this week. It's not too late to join us for a month of daily meditation, journaling and habit-building practice!