When the Outside World Presses In

Hello Again! It's been 3 months since I blogged. A new record for me, but the Outside World has been pressing in and it's been occupying most of my time. In story writing world, that means the hero and heroine are dealing with challenges to their internal flaw and/or are busy fighting off the bad guys before they hit the Big Black Moment and fail to overcome the challenge to their internal flaw--everything goes to -- fill in the blank.

In my world, it means that I've had a lot of other things going on that have taken priority over blogging. A friend visited all the way from the Netherlands, I've written my first ever novella and brainstormed my sequel to the Maverick, and the Physicist and I have been going on mini-exploration trips. I've also been playing in different Cyber Playgrounds as my world has shifted from "before I sold" to "I have a contract to fulfill" and new people to meet in different Cyber Clubs. My paradigms have been shifting, and I've been adjusting. But now I need to regroup and look to the months ahead and figure out how to manage my time again.

Every year I use the holiday time to sit, reflect, and review my goals as well as the challenges that I will face in the upcoming year. First comes sitting. Really sitting and letting myself "be" in the moment. What's been working for me? What hasn't? What new internal changes do I need to focus on so I can improve as an individual? What external changes do I need to make to ensure that the internal changes will happen? Still mulling and letting these thoughts percolate over the next week.

Another big part of the holiday season for me is the time I get to spend with my family. We're a small unit and most of our friends and family live in other states and countries. This means we're just we-three, but we enjoy our annual holiday traditions. Some of them include making goodies, going to special movies as a family, creating a fabulous meal for Christmas and welcoming in the New Year with our annual batch of Kick A$$ Chili served up with all the fixings.

How do you ring in the holidays? Do you reflect and review? Do you try to find an area of your life that you'd like to improve?