Saturday, October 1, 2011

OLW Blog Hop - Catching Up

Welcome back to the One Little Word Blog Hop! For those unfamiliar, OLW is a year-long class offered by Big Picture Classes and Ali Edwards. Each month, Ali puts together a prompt that explores a different aspect of our word, as well as a creative project that reflects the month's theme. This year, my OLW is dream. You can see all of my OLW related posts here.

Due to recent events, I missed out on last month's blog hop. But I have completed the prompt. In August, we were tasked with a self-portrait and a loving message to ourselves. I used a photo taken with my iPhone.


For this month, we went back to deeper thinking. Ali challenged us to choose a battle worth fighting for in relation to our OLW. She also asked us to identify a battle that we are willing to surrender.



Powerful stuff.

I chose to fight for my dreams by enrolling in Mondo Beyondo, an online course devoted to dreaming big. I had seen the class many times before and was always interested...but I had not been ready to take the plunge. Shortly after watching Ali's presentation about choosing our battle, I received the Mondo Beyondo newsletter. It seemed serendipitous that the Fall Session started September 12th. I registered immediately. I am LOVING this class.

One of my favorite exercises so far was identifying my core values. I'll leave you today with my list:

Acceptance – Giving myself permission to dream big & small and then being open to what I discover. Having the courage to believe in the goodness of myself and others. Seeking more gratitude, less judgment in my beautiful everyday life. Weathering the storms of life with grace, wisdom and humor.

Authenticity – Keeping it real & owning my own particular brand of crazy. Being true to myself in all my varying roles. No comparisons, no competition. Seek to add value in all the I do. Admit my frailties. Allow venerability.

Balance – Set priorities for family, work, household and creativity. Adopt and keep a schedule to avoid becoming overwhelmed! No more paralyzing fear of imperfection. Know it’s ok to be ok. Learn to say no, kindly but firmly. Celebrate the wins.


Commitment – Keep pushing to improve dedication and reliability. Follow through. Self-motivation. Work harder at marriage & motherhood. Heathy habits are now imperative! Manage chronic disease, eat better, move more.

Love – Hold fast to “the greatest of these is love.” Let this be your anchor. Kindness first. Generosity of spirit and materials. Honor my husband. Support my son’s move to independence, guide him without guilt or smothering. Learn to love from afar. Grow my spirituality. Take care of our earth.

Next up on the blog hop is  the wonderful Nicky. Check out her post here.

9 comments:

  1. I've heard great things about this class! I hope you get the most out of it. Great post this month Jenn!!! xoxo

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  2. Don't you love it when everything comes together this way to confirm that you're on the right path? Sounds like the class has really helped you define who you are where you want to go. Thanks so much for sharing. (And I LOVED your photo/words from August!)

    Blessings on your journey...

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  3. It just might be serendipitous that I am reading your post NOW, as I enrolled in Mondo Beyondo at the beginning of the year and completely let it drop. It's been nagging at me to revisit the prompts and just do them on my own. Maybe now is the time. Loved your iPhone photo, too!

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  4. I was just reading about this class today. I'm very tempted as I have stopped dreaming these days. Perhaps a class could start me up again. I love your list of core values - very inspiring. I could adopt most of them. My son is a teen and I need to change the way I love on him. It is a difficult transition, for me at least. It's hard to be a mother and stay true to ourselves. You look like you are on the right path. Thanks so much for sharing all you did.

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  5. I haven't heard about this class before. Your core values are wonderful. I really like the to true to yourself - no comparisons. That's a big issue with me. Enjoy the class!

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  6. Fighting for your dreams is a truly noble cause! I wish you the best of luck on your journey.

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  7. Good for you for enrolling in the Mondo Beyondo course! It looks like a great way to follow your personal journey.

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  8. Wow great post and I love your list of core values! I really need to work on balance.

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  9. Have fun with Mondo Beyondo. I've thought about taking it but its just not the right time for me. I'll be looking forward to hearing about your experience!

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