10 months later I look back at 2023 ...

I can't believe I haven't written a blogpost in so long. Where in the world did the year go? 

We are now halfway into February already and I have looked back at 2023 with my year-end ritual (every year in late december I take a few days to answer a set number of questions about the past-present-coming year) which I have been doing for the 13th year now. And every year I come up with a 'motto' for the year ahead and those mottos seem to have become simpler and more pared down every year. Have a look:

2012   (learn to) live artfully
2013    get real, get down, create something and fly
2014    be the soft, wise, conscious woman who belongs
2015    stop and smell the roses
2016    successfully create the lean, flexible, wise woman
2017    look with the heart - what makes ME happy?
2018    be visisible - outspoken - free to share the light
2019    rise like phoenix from the ashes
2020    becoming Sita Dasjot Kaur (my Kundalini identity)
2021    continue as dame-lady-queen Sita Dasjot
2022    find structure in my days in a creative/yogic way
2023    shine again

and 2024: BE (more) ME!!!!

After the death of my mother in early 2021 (and simultaneously breaking my leg) it was the yoga that kept me relatively sane. Later that year I retired and struggled all throughout 2022 and parts of 2023 to adjust to this new situation of living 100% in Holland and being without work. My mood picked up with painting again in 2023 and doing a bunch of advanced trainings in yoga, as well as some nice travels (to Berlin in February, with my two sisters to Italy in May, 6 weeks through Southern Europe with my husband in September/Oktober).

But I am still not there. The new focus is a slippery affair, there are days that I come precariously close to being down again. It is still sometimes so hard to feel useful and to fill the long days with better things than scrolling endlessly on Insta and Facebook (I have been on "digital detox" now for a couple of weeks, more or less successfully) or reading a book a day.

It's hard to commit to doing voluntarry work as it would tie me down to be in a certain place at a certain time while I want to protect my freedom to just pick up and go (even though I don't do it that hardly so much after all).

I am incredibly grateful for the yoga with occasional teaching and much doing (twice a week plus two or three times crossfit for seniors which has been fun for the last 3 months and helped greatly to shed the extra 6kg I put on last year!!!!).

So stay tuned to hear what I will come up with in this coming year. Happy VERY BELATED new year 2024 anyways! Ommmmmmmmmm ...

Above my vision board for 2024 - but it's still way to vague!