A Year Older, and Wider...no that isn't a typo LOL

So, it is over. My birthday. Another one under my belt. It turned out to be quite nice. A friend called and we went to a local restaurant for brunch, and then walked over to the farmer's market. I spent much of the rest of the day on the phone with friends and family, and reading all the wonderful birthday wishes on FB, and a couple other sites I participate in on the world wide web! And finally, a big surprise....I was chillin' on the couch about to fall asleep, when someone knocked on the door. It was a couple of my neighbors, one who made home made chicken veggie soup, and the other who made cupcakes for me!!! What a nice surprise that was!!! So, a day that I thought was going to be spent alone, turned out to be filled with love, well wishes, and nourishment of body and soul. I feel lucky!

So, I am another year older, and as they say....wiser. (One can only hope)! But, like I wrote in the title, wider. Partly I am talking about the cupcakes, and the brunch and my own little treat to myself yesterday, a pint of Ben & Jerry's......yes, that will certainly make me "wider", but I also mean it in another way.

I am hoping that as I get older, I continue to grow. I hope that I can widen my views on what is happening around me. I hope that the way I treat people grows each and every day to push out anything but loving kindness. I hope to broaden my awareness of our cultural differences, political views, spiritual paths, and know and honor that there is a grain of truth in each of our perspectives, and it is that "melting pot" that makes us such an interesting landscape. And what I want to widen to as large as it could possible grow is my love and compassion for all sentient beings.

What i know is going to continue to get wider, and what I wish I could widen my acceptance of, is my hips...LOL. You see, I am sure some of you reading this will say, that is easy, watch what goes in, and expend more energy than that......well, yes.....but, for those of us who have fat disorders, we know, it is not that easy.....so, I hope to widen the research and acceptance of those of us who are struggling with these illnesses, and the stigmas that go along with it.

Ok, and finally....what I have been trying to widen, is my view of who I am. I am not who I dreamed of being, I am not who I planned on being, and I am not who I want to be. So, who am I? I am someone who has had to figure out how to be fluid and flexible with an illness that is taking away all my preconceived versions and visions of me! So, in my post birthday packing for the next trip around the sun....I have packed only one major goal.

I want to have an art show by this time next year! There are many lessons that could come from this goal, so I think it is a good one. Like for instance...will I allow myself to buy some of the materials I need? Or will I do what I usually do, and decide that the money should go to other aspects of my life. No, this year, I feed my creativity. I hope that my creativity widens to take over my life. Many have said to me that my healing will come from my art. It is time!

So, here is to a year of widening an aspect of me that I have kept rather thin for awhile, my creativity. And hopefully, for my next year's birthday, that of the double 5, you will be attending an art show. Hmmm, I wonder if I should book it now?