Day 1 of Master Cleanse. Is this a good last year activity? I think so. I've been feeling bloated and full of crapola. I feel like a detox will do me well. Feeling my best is what this project is about.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Day 44 – 7.27.10 - Meetings and Synergies
This morning I went for a run with Eleonore. We planned our show, which was great. Later I had a fun talk with another lawyer coach I met in San Diego last week. We had great synergy and may work on some projects together. How fun! Tonight Peter and I figured out how to create a podcast and I uploaded it onto my website. I feel like I've become so tech savvy!
Day 43 – 7.26.10 - Teleclass
Katie and I held our free teleclass tonight! It was scary but exhilarating. The feedback was fantastic too. We had 30 people on the line which is amazing. Oh, I'm alternating between feeling high and feeling sick about what I should have said. I think for this project I'm going to let go of beating myself up! That is neither a fun nor productive way to spend my last days. Anyway, if you want to check out the podcast of the class, you can do so HERE.
We have one week before our Life Alchemy Workshop begins. I'm so excited about it and really want to attract the perfect people to attend. I think anyone who feels attracted to this will be the perfect person. Do you want to do it? :)
Day 42 – 7.25.10 - Farmer's Market
A new Farmer's Market opened up down the street from our house. We went to check it out today. Peter had been there once before, but it was my first time. It was really great. Today was Salsa Sunday. They had two types of salsa lessons: salsa dancing and salsa making. It's a small market, but it's really adorable. I was thrilled to go and support my local farmers and artisans.
When we got home my beloved brother Chris was in our back yard painting our adirondack chairs. He's having his 40th birthday party at our house next month. It's a White Party theme -- everyone is going to be dressed in white and he wanted the furnishings in white too. He asked if he could paint our chairs. They were rather beat up with fading/flaking red paint. I was more than happy to say yes. He's happy about the theme and I'm thrilled to have my chairs looking pretty and pristine again.
Went to the Farmer's Market – enjoyed salsa lessons. Chris came over to paint chairs. Yeah!
Day 41 – 7.24.10 - Bike Riding
Peter, Aliza and I went for a bike ride today. We biked to the library and then Ali played in the park a little bit. I love biking around the neighborhood. It was really fun. Later I planned my teleclass with Katie. We're having a teleclass on "Releasing Blocks to Success" on Monday. I'm nervous, but excited!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Day 40 - 7.23.10 - At the Beach
We had a beach day today. Peter, Ali & I went to the beach with Efua and Cleo. The water was cold, but the weather was gorgeous. As you can see from the girls' squeals of delight they loved the waves and being at the ocean. Word of warning: put the volume down when you watch the video. Did I mention that the girls are squealing/screaming? It was really fun though.
I find that because of this project I'm taking more time for these types of things... things like beach outings on a Friday afternoon, hiking on a Monday morning, road trips to San Diego. I'm spending more quality time with Ali, Peter, and other people we love. It's really great.
Day 39 - 7.22.10 - San Diego
We went on a road trip today. Peter and I drove down to San Diego for a business conference. We went to hear Fabienne Fredrickson speak about abundance mindsets. On the way down we stopped and picked up Justine. It was fun to have a road trip and we got a lot of food for thought about ways in which we block our good. I'm hosting a free teleseminar on Monday night about blocks to success, so I enjoyed hearing her take on these types of blocks.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 38 - 7.21.10 - Jumping on the bed
Ali and I jumped on my bed today. I pulled her up for a cuddle and she started to jump. I was going to protest, but then decided to join her. The thought crossed my mind that it might be bad for the mattress, but who cares? I can always get a new mattress. Jumping on my bed with my giggling 23 month old is priceless.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 37 – 7.20.10 - Good Working Day
Self-Realization Fellowship at Lake Shrine
Monday, July 19, 2010
Day 36 – 7.19.10 - The Hike
I woke up this morning around 9 a.m. this morning and cuddled with my hubby. Aliza woke up around this time so I brought her into bed with us and we all cuddled for a little while before having breakfast.
I really wanted to go for a hike, so we decided to hike in Kenneth Hahn Park. I carried Ali in the Ergo and we took Marley along too. We hiked for a little over an hour -- it started getting hot and we were all starving. As I was hiking around meadows and through a hummingbird gardens, I felt so lucky for my life. I work from home at my schedule, and I love what I do. My hubby also mostly works from home at his schedule, and he loves what he does. Two days a week Ali is in day care, but the other days she is here with us and we play most of the day. It's easy to focus on what's not working as well as you'd like in your life, but I made a point to notice today about how much is going right. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe that I have actually created this life. I am savoring this year, but I dearly hope it's not my last.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Day 35 - 7.18.10 - Family
I went to Agape this morning and then my brothers and their families came over this afternoon. I'm not sure if I fully express how grateful I am that my siblings and I get along so well. I truly love spending time with them. What's great is that my daughter also loves her cousins. In particular, she and Cleo (shown above) are total BFFs. They squeal with laughter whenever they're together. It's awesome!
Day 34 – 7.17.10 - Chinatown and Date Night
Ali and I in LA's Chinatown
Later Peter and I had a date night -- two in one week! This is a post-Ali record for us. My angel of a sister watched Aliza, and Peter and I headed to a housewarming party in Silver Lake. He hung out until about 10:30 and then caught a late romantic dinner at Home Restaurant in Los Feliz. The evening made me rather feliz. The food was delicious, spending quality time with my husband was awesome, and the yummy, but dangerous Hazelnut Latte Martini definitely got me giddy.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Day 33 – 7.16.10 - Planning My Trip(s)
Today I went to visit my brother, sister-in-law and niece who had just gotten back from a trip to Spain. I spent some time looking over their pictures and that familiar longing started to hit me. I want to travel! And it's my Last Year Project and traveling is a big part of that. Alas, unlike my hypothetical I don't have an unlimited pot of money that I can use (at least not yet), so I was feeling like I would start planning my trip after I got some extra money. I realized that it doesn't really work that way. I'll start planning the trip and the means will come.
So, when I got home I started doing some research. I want to go to Machu Picchu, so when's the best time of year? From what I saw May and September are the ideal times. I would love to go this September, but Peter is going to be in Australia from late August to early September. I want to travel with him and that will be too much time for him to be away in one stretch. So May it shall be. I went on the aa.com website and saw that I could travel to Peru in May for merely 30,000 miles per person. We have enough miles for Peter and I to travel!!! Yeah! I'm still in planning stages, but it's coming together. Yippee!!!
Machu Picchu here we come!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day 32 – 7.15.10 - Australia Rocks the Santa Monica Pier
Yahoo! I've caught up to the present day. :)
Tonight we did one of my favorite things to do in LA – we went to a Santa Monica Pier Twilight Dance Concert. Tonight's theme was “Australia Rocks the Pier” - perfect for my Aussie family. Teo is in San Diego with his friend's family, so it was just Peter, I and the girls. The weather was perfect, the music was perfect, the night was perfect.
Day 31 – 7.14.10 - Hammer Museum
It's been one month since I began the Last Year Project. Have things shifted? I notice that I'm trying to be more thoughtful. For example, I'm making sure now that I put the shopping cart back in the designated space, I don't just leave it anywhere in the parking lot. I'm being more loving. I'm cleaning more around the house even if it's “more than my fair share.”
Tonight Peter and I had a date. We went to the Hammer Museum, checked out an exhibition, and watched Riding Giants – a movie about big wave surfers. It was really nice to have that quality time together. We both work from home so we spend a lot of time together, but this was very quality and all about us.
Peter at the exhibit
Funny statue at the Hammer
Peter and I in the theater pre-movie
Day 30 – 7.13.10 - Mastermind
I had my mastermind call tonight. In case you don't know a mastermind is a group of people who come together to mutually assist each other in the pursuit of success. In my case, it's a group of about 5 women who get together once a week on the phone to cheer each other on and support one another in our goals. My group is so amazing and takes me very high. I love those ladies and they help me pursue my passions; masterminding with these women is a perfect Last Year activity.
Day 29 – 7.12.10 - Organized Closet
This may not seem like a big deal to most, but I organized my closet today. For me this is a HUGE deal. I moved into this house a year ago and pretty much since day 1, my closet has been a scene of chaos and mayhem. I was extremely embarrassed by the state of my closet, knew how horrible the feng shui was, and yet could not muster up the wherewithal to get it done... until today. Yeah! The stupid thing is that it didn't even take that long. I probably spent about one hour and now my closet is an organized, tidy, and color-coordinated marvel. I used to keep my closet door firmly shut. Now it's wide open so I can keep appreciating my handiwork. Aaaahhhh! So nice!
Here is my closet. This may not look like a closet one would find in a magazine, but believe me this is a HUGE improvement over what it was before. I probably should have taken a "before" shot, but it's probably better that disaster zone is never seen or heard from again.
Day 28 - 7.11.10 - World Cup Finals and Other News
I went to Agape this morning. Rev. Michael Beckwith's sermon was about the courage to emerge and dealing with chaos. It felt very apropos to me today. My life has seemed somewhat chaotic this week. It hasn't bee the subject of my posts, but believe me it has. Per Rev. Michael, this just means that something big is happening in my life and the old structures are falling away. I can see that. This Project feels like it's creating tectonic shifting for me. It's all good. I'm embracing the chaos.
In other news, I watched the World Cup finals. Spain beat Netherlands. My parents live in Spain and they were THRILLED! I skyped with the folks after the game. My mother was kinda drunk (hee hee... funny because it's rare) and all I could hear were horns blasting in the background. I think the whole country was drunk with pride.
Afterwards I went to celebrate Ariane's birthday at Venice Beach Wines. I caught up with some of her friends who I hadn't seen in a long time, drank some amazing wine, and enjoyed some yummy cheese. I got to go solo, so it was a nice grown-up afternoon outing.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Day 27 - 7.10.10 - Relay for Life
Kelli & I at the Relay for Life
I went to do the Relay for Life in Santa Monica with Kelli and others. When there I found out that a young friend (only 30 years old) has cancer. It helped give me some perspective and gave new meaning to this project for me. I have full faith that she will make full and speedy recovery, but realize that even at my ripe young age of 35 I could be facing my mortality in a more imminent way. Life really is too short and needs to be lived fully.
Later at home we had another bbq – our house is such a magnet for celebration. In fact, this bbq was to plan my brother's birthday party later this summer taking place here. In addition to Peter, I, and the kids, we had Cookie, Bonita, Mika, Chris, Lisa, Rowan, Jenny, Robert, and their 3 kids (17 in all). This was a “little” party for us -- lots of fun had by all.
Trying to photograph the cousins, but only Rowan was really being cooperative.
Day 26 – 7.9.10 - Starting the Blog & BBQ
I started this blog today. My original idea was to make this a book, but it kept screaming to me to be a blog. So... here we are. Teo has a friend sleeping over tonight – a lovely boy named Jameson. We had a bbq with Sean and Mike.
Later I sent out a letter to my friends and family asking for support for the Relay for Life. I am participating as part of a 24-hour relay for the American Cancer Society. If you'd like to donate, please do so here: Donate. My fingers are crossed that I make $100+. I actually upped the ante and hope to earn $500.
Day 25 – 7.8.10 - Beverly Hills Jazz Concert
This evening we went to watch our friend Michael play a jazz gig at a free outdoor concert in Beverly Hills. They were filming the concert and I was interviewed during the show for what I assume is some Beverly Hills promo or for the local Beverly Hills TV channel. I found it was funny that I was on camera two days in a row.
Day 24 – 7.7.10 - The People Whisperer
Today I participated in a pilot for a friend -- The People Whisperer with Marcus Lovemore. There was a "cooking"/nutrition segment and I was I was one of the three audience members tasting the final results. I put "cooking" in quotations because the cuisine was "raw primal" and there was no cooking involved. It was very delicious though.
Afterwards, there was a bodywork/healing segment and I got some bodywork done. It was a type of Maori healing technique. I thought I was going to get a nice relaxing massage -- something subtle, soft, and quiet like a whisper. Oh no! It was more like a bludgeoning or a form of torture. I might have to tell my friend the show's title is misleading. That being said, the healing did help a shoulder issue that I've been having for years. So it's painful, but effective. Anyway, it was an adventure and I loved being able to help out a friend.
On the drive home I heard James Taylor and Carole King on NPR today talking about their concert tour. They close the concert with James Taylor's Close Your Eyes song. This portion of the lyrics seemed to particularly speak to this challenge for me:
“So close your eyes; You can close your eyes, it's all right; I don't know no love songs; And I can't sing the blues anymore; But I can sing this song; And you can sing this song; When I'm gone.”
This made me think -- what is the song that I'm singing this year and what is the song that I'm leaving for others to sing when I'm gone? I hope it's a love song.
Day 23 – 7.6.10 - In the Heights
Today I had a fun lunch with Ariane, my favorite local gypsy, at the most kawaii cafe this side of Japan -- the Royal-T Cafe.
This evening I went with my sister (she'd won tickets from a local radio station and took me as her date) to see In the Heights at the Pantages Theater. The show was amazing and afterwards we got to go backstage and meet some of the cast. Unfortunately, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and lead actor, was out sick that night. However, his understudy was absolutely fantastic and I loved the show. I hope to go back when Miranda is there so I can compare.
Here we are with Joseph Morales, the Usnavi understudy. He was awesome and he's such a cutie!
Here we are with Shaun Taylor-Corbett who plays Sonny. Also awesome and also a cutie!
Day 22 – 7.5.10 - BBQ with Chris & Lisa
We went to a barbecue at Chris and Lisa's today. It's really great -- it's summertime in LA and all the grills are coming out. It was a lovely afternoon and evening at their place. There was some America's Funniest Home Videos marathon playing so we ate good food, talked, and laughed a lot. It was the perfect ending to a perfect long weekend.
Here are some of those funny home videos if you'd like a laugh:
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Day 21 - 7.4.10 - Independence Day
Mika and Ali celebrating on the beach
Today is the Fourth of July. This morning Peter and I went for a run around the neighborhood and then I went to Agape. I focused on pre-paving the day with intention and things went very smoothly: easy driving, easy parking, easy seating. It was wonderful.
Afterwards, we went down to Huntington Beach to celebrate the holiday with Justine with friends and family, Bonita, Robert, Mika, Pascale and the kids. It was a nice day of fun in the sun. I've just gotten home and I realized that I lost a little something today by not quite being in the spirit of this Project. Traffic leaving these 4th of July celebrations in LA can be horrible, so I stressed out and was packing up during the fireworks show. This was supposed to be my last Independence Day and I didn't take time to appreciate the fireworks. That made me sad, but I will do better next time (not just next year, but next moment).
Day 20 – 7.3.10 - World Cup and the Park
I enjoyed more World Cup soccer today. Argentina was unfortunately pummeled, but Spain won. I've been enjoying sharing the World Cup with Peter, Teo, and the rest of the world. I've never been into the World Cup before this year, but I've been completely addicted this time.
Later I went to the park with Ali and met Rose, Eric, and Karen. It was nice to see them and catch up with them. Karen and I used to take the girls out together every week, but it's a much more rare occurrence these days.
Day 19 – 7.2.10 - Friend's B-Day and the Nice Gym
Called a dear college friend for her birthday. We spoke for over an hour. It had been a long time since we'd talked and I was thrilled to catch up with her.
Later I went with my sister to the “nice gym.” The Hollywood branch of my gym is a longer drive away, but it's newer and so much more pleasant. I took a spin class and felt so good.
Day 18 – 7.1.10 - Newsletter
It was a fairly quiet day. I worked on my coaching business newsletter and sent it out today. I actually really love working on it -- writing the articles and getting it formatted. I feel passionate about writing, so I think today was a great Last Year day. Interested in seeing how I spent my day? If you're interested you can read my newsletter here.
Day 17 – 6.30.10 - Mark Victor Hansen
Today I had an exciting book idea and decided that Mark Victor Hansen would be the perfect person to partner with me on that. I felt like it was a cheeky thing to ask him to partner with me on that, but I did. :)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 16 – 6.29.10 - Reality TV Show Workshop
I have a reality tv show that I am producing with my friend Eleonore. Today we went to a Reality TV Workshop to find out more about getting it from concept to air. I found it very educational. Eleonore, who is in the "biz," found it very elementary. Afterwards we grabbed some dinner and chatted about ideas for the show. I am very excited about the show! It feels great to put energy towards making it happen. This idea has been floating around in my head for over 3 years. In the spirit of this challenge, the time to make it happen is NOW.
Day 15 – 6.28.10 - Moth Storytelling Slam
Tonight I went to the Moth Storytelling Slam. I was trying to prepare a story to share at the Slam, but in the end didn't put my name in to tell it. I was trying, but couldn't get my story down to the required 5 minutes. As I was driving home I wondered if that was the right attitude for this Last Year Project. I might have been able to shorten it, but I didn't even try. I think if I truly had only 350 days left to live, I would have said "what the hell" and gone up there. Oh well, I am still going to give myself props for pulling on my Manolo Blahniks and going out by myself to meet the girls and trying something new.
Curious to find out more? Check out this LA Times Article about the Moth here.
Day 14 – 6.27.10 - Family BBQ
My last year is all about celebration and we had another celebration today. We had a BBQ with the B. Family and our family (minus Chris, Lisa & Rowan who were in San Francisco). It was really fun (God, I feel so blessed to get along so well with my family), and the new tent is doing a great job of holding all our stuff.
Day 13 – 6.26.10 - Nellie's Party
Tonight we attended a party for our friend Nellie who's in town from New York, at one of her friends in Venice. It was really fun to go out there, hang out with a group of people that I don't normally party with, and meet new friends. A big goal for this year is spending as much time in celebration with friends and family as possible. I think tonight's party definitely fit the bill!
Day 12 – 6.25.10 - Book Idea & Speaking
I was inspired today to write a book of stories about positive birth experiences. I want to write it with my friend Justine, a pregnancy/mama coach. I talked with her today. She's definitely on board, and I feel like it will be a very special and important book in the world. I'm so excited! (If any of you reading this have had a positive natural birth experience please do let me know! Maybe your story can be included in our book. :))
Today was a quiet day focused on work. I e-mailed folks about private sessions/speaking. Nothing has come of it... yet, but I did it despite the fact that I was a bit nervous. This year I'm putting myself out there to share my skills and talents with the world. I can't make them take it, but I am putting myself out there.
Day 11 - 6.24.10 - Wedding Anniversary
Today was my 3rd wedding anniversary (Spanish Edition). In other words, it was the 3rd anniversary of our wedding reception in Spain (as opposed to our civil ceremony in Los Angeles). I started the day having coffee with my new friend Nina. I am definitely energized by my time with her and treasure her friendship – it's important to have friends like her who take you higher. Afterwards, I went to the beach with Peter, Teo, and India. Ali was in day care. Again, I tried to focus on being present -- enjoying the feel of the sun's rays, the ocean breeze, the soft sand under my body. It was wonderful. It felt so decadent to simply lie on a towel and read a book during the middle of the day on a Thursday afternoon. Being self-employed certainly has its privileges!
Peter & I at lunch
Day 10 - 6.23.10 - Visitors & Gazebo
I spent the morning and early afternoon with my friend Pam and her daughter Maddie. Ali and Maddie played and Pam and I caught up. As a solo entrepreneur who works from home, I find it hard to turn off work mode. In honor of this challenge, I didn't allow myself to feel rushed and I focused on being very present for Pam. Our time together felt so special because of it.
In other news, we got an outdoor tent/gazebo. I've been desiring one pretty much since I bought this house 5 years ago. I'm not sure why it took so long to get one. I always thought they were very expensive or onerous. We got a new one for $120 on Craigslist and it was super easy to set up. Yeah! I love it and can now cross one other item off my desire list. :)
Day 8 – 6.21.10
I picked up a California Super Lawyer Magazine and saw that an old friend of mine had been selected as a 2010 Rising Star. This friend had stopped speaking to me 4 years ago. I never did find out why. In the spirit of this challenge, I thought that I should e-mail her and congratulate her – both for this prize and for making partner at her new firm (something I discovered in the article). I sent her an e-mail congratulating her. She responded and we have a correspondence renewed of sorts. Life is too short to hold grudges or to let ego get in the way of friendship.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Day 7 – 6.20.10
Today is Father's Day. I stayed up late last night making Animoto.com videos for Peter and my father. They enjoyed it and I really enjoyed making them. Here is the video I made for Peter:
Day 6 – 6.19.10
I was very much reminded of why I'm doing this project today. I attended a memorial party for Joanne Golden – the mother of two friends of mine. It was a beautiful party – filled with friends and family. People were eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves. It was the way that I would want to be remembered and celebrated at the end of my life.
I left the memorial a bit early to attend a baby shower. I was really experiencing the spectrum of human life today. My friend Cindy is having a baby boy. We gathered in the backyard of a girlfriend and enjoyed more good food, champagne, and quality time.
Later Peter and I went to see Jamie Lidell in concert at the El Rey Theater. I won the tickets on KCRW. I didn't really know him, but he was a great act and we really enjoyed ourselves. I love music, so I'm going to take as much advantage of these opportunities as I can (especially when they're free).
Here is a youtube video of Jamie Lidell that night at the El Rey.
I left the memorial a bit early to attend a baby shower. I was really experiencing the spectrum of human life today. My friend Cindy is having a baby boy. We gathered in the backyard of a girlfriend and enjoyed more good food, champagne, and quality time.
Later Peter and I went to see Jamie Lidell in concert at the El Rey Theater. I won the tickets on KCRW. I didn't really know him, but he was a great act and we really enjoyed ourselves. I love music, so I'm going to take as much advantage of these opportunities as I can (especially when they're free).
Here is a youtube video of Jamie Lidell that night at the El Rey.
Day 5 – 6.18.10
My husband and I spent a lot of today enjoying each other. I think that's all I need to say about that.
Day 4 - 6.17.10
This afternoon/evening I attended a flash mob at the California Women's Law Center. I had a lot of fun learning the dance and hanging out with other flash mobbers. I spoke with a couple of women at the event – a few from Kaiser Permanente (didn't mention that I'd almost died there. Why bother?). I also spoke with a Gibson Dunn summer associate from Columbia Law School and a current Morrison & Foerster associate. How interesting that these are the two attorneys that I attracted! I think this was a good 365 Day – networking to get my financial house in order and following my flash mob passion.
Here is a video of that flash mob. You only see a couple very brief flashes of me in this, but you should check out the dance. It was so much fun!
Day 3 – 6.16.10
Today I went to lunch with an old friend from my old law firm. We ate at my cousin J.B.'s restaurant - The Wine Bistro. It was great to see him and to bring a new patron to his restaurant. I hope she brings him lots of business and invites her co-workers. Lunch was delicious and he gifted us with a special dessert. That was nice and so was reconnecting with an old friend.
When I came home Ali and I drew with sidewalk chalk outside, played some hopscotch, and cuddled. The time I'm spending with her feels so dear.
When I came home Ali and I drew with sidewalk chalk outside, played some hopscotch, and cuddled. The time I'm spending with her feels so dear.
Double Rainbow (Day 25 Aside)
Someone told me about this youtube video. It has recently gone viral and garnered over 2 million views. As someone focusing on "appreciating each moment as if it's the last," I can appreciate this man's enthusiasm for the double rainbow. Alas, I am not sure I'd be able to reach this level of reverential awe about anything without chemical enhancement. I'm not sure he was either.
I had a very good cleansing laugh from this video though. And that's always a good way to spend your time.
Day 2 - 6.15.10
Aliza and I
Aliza woke me up and it was so sweet to see her after 4 days away in New York. So, today is her regular day care day. Dilemma – spend the day with her or bring her to day care as normal? The 365 Answer was clear – spend the day with my daughter. I hadn't seen her in the better part of a week and there was no compelling reason to send her. So I called and said that she wouldn't be coming in today. We went to the park and I indulged her in her favorite activity – swinging. We kept swinging until she was ready to stop (not when I was ready to stop, which generally is very different). It was really great.
Later I went for a bike ride with Ali and Peter. The weather was beautiful and Ali's smile as we rode was priceless.
Tonight we celebrated Pascale's birthday. The dinner party was fabulous -- we enjoyed good food, wine and a bottle of Pascale's 1999 Dom Perignon. Sweet! And this was all with my husband's ex-wife, her current boyfriend, and her ex-boyfriend. What a truly modern family I've got!
Day 1 - 6.14.10
I first came up with the idea of the Last Year Project 3 days ago. I decided to start today. There is no special reason to start today. Although today is my mother's birthday, I just decided to start today because I didn't want to wait 4 months until my birthday or 6 months until the end of the year. If I had 365 days to live, I would start living right away. And so it has begun.
***
I went to bed last night with a bit of a dilemma. Right now I am typing from a flight back to Los Angeles, but I spent the past weekend in New York. I went for a law school reunion and was catching up with family and old friends from law school and beyond. I had brunch with one dear friend, Corinne, on Saturday. She was very, very pregnant. In fact, she was having contractions during our brunch. As we were saying our goodbyes I made her promise to let me know the second the baby was born. I promised that if I were in town (the baby had until Monday), I would come and meet the newest member of her family.
That night I had a raucous (for me) night at my reunion. I drank lots of wine and felt a little less than stellar on Sunday. I had breakfast with one friend though and lunch with a group of others. All day long I dragged my suitcase and heavy briefcase with me. Later in the afternoon I took a slow train deep into Long Island to my cousin's house where I planned to stay until they drove me to the airport on Monday afternoon.
As I was on this slow train to Long Island (and finally a bit of rest) I received an e-mail... the baby was here. I was thrilled for my friend, but the thought of taking the train all the way back into the city made me feel very sick. I was not thrilled about having to do that. I sent them a reply saying I was on the way to Long Island, but would try to visit the next day.
So I went to bed seriously NOT wanting to have to make the trip, but decided I would sleep on it and make the decision the next morning. So this morning I woke up and realized it was Day 1 of the 365 Day Project. In keeping with my goals should I stay at my cousins or go back into Manhattan and visit my friend and her new baby? The answer was clear – I had to go and spend time with my dear friend on this momentous occasion in her life. So I packed up and got myself ready for the 1 ½ commute back into the city. I spent 2 hours with my friends, and then went to the airport.
I was very happy with my decision and really appreciated how easy the 365 Day Project made that decision for me.
The dear newborn
What The Last Year Project is All About.
"A man should not leave this earth with unfinished business. He should live each day as if it was a pre-flight check. He should ask each morning, am I prepared to lift-off?” ~Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, from Northern Exposure, All is Vanity, 1991
A few years ago (four years ago to be exact) I took a self-development course and was given an exercise to work on:
if you only had 365 days to live, you didn't have to worry about money or your health during the year, and on the 365th day, you would die easily and painlessly, what would you do with your year?
I considered this exercise and wrote an earnest answer. I wrote it all down in a journal and then put that journal in a briefcase I barely touched for the next 4 years. Recently I used that briefcase as I flew on a trip to New York and discovered my answer to this exercise. I was rather pleasantly surprised to see that many of my goals for my imaginary final year I managed to accomplish over the past 4 years. Those included quitting my law job, finding the love of my life, having a baby girl, writing a book, and traveling around the world.
I was rather pleasantly surprised by how all these goals that seemed rather far away when I wrote them had all come to pass. It made me think, what if I spent the next 365 days as if they were my last? What if every day I considered really seriously how I want to live my “final year”? What kind of adventures would I go on then? How would my life be different? And thus the 365 Day Project was born.
My Goals for this 365 Day Period:
- spend as much quality time with my beloved friends and family as possible
- travel as much as possible (visit Machu Picchu and other destinations)
- follow my passions
- publish my book(s)
- have as much fun and pleasure as possible (in other words, enjoy the journey!)
- get my financial house in order (leave my family very financially cared for)
- leave the world a more beautiful, kinder, better place (i.e., add more beauty, kindness, joy, and goodness to my environment, community, and world)
Here's to an amazing year!
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