There is something about the cold, damp days of January and February that always makes me want to hibernate. However, everyday the sun rises a smidgen earlier and sets a smidgen later. There is always something to look forward to, even if it’s an extra few moments of sunshine.
Get yourself up and out even if it’s cold!
Sometimes, it is easy to be overwhelmed with worry about all the things that could go wrong. What if, the next time you feel bogged down by negative possibilities you stop and ask yourself – what if everything goes right? What if my plan succeeds in the best possible way? What is the best possible outcome? If you don’t go for it, you will probably avoid the worst case scenario – but you also deny yourself the possibility for the best case scenario. So, go for it, and envision what will happen if everything works out!
What is the best case scenario, rather than the worst?
Plato apparently once said “You can discover more about a person from an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” Perhaps amongst all of the things you might want to change or do differently this year, devote more time for free play – perhaps there is something to discover about yourself you never knew!
Have fun this year!
Happy New Year! As usual, I make a lot of resolutions. First, I am going to stay hydrated this year. Second, I intend to wear leggings more often. Third, I will take more pictures of goats.
Resolved: More goats for 2019.
Here we are, the end of another year. Thank you for supporting Goat of the Day over the past few months, I hope to continue bringing you daily goats in the new year. The past year has had its ups and downs, so often the news can really weigh on me. It is my sincerest hope that Goat of the Day cheerfully interrupts the negativity with a brief moment to enjoy one of humanity’s best friends – the goat. Happy New Year everyone!
Time stops for no one.
Thinking about the year ahead? Many people find the new year is a great time to make resolutions pertaining to things they are going to do differently than the previous year. Oftentimes, these resolutions focus on self-improvement in one way or another. Goal setting is important and can be helpful, but perhaps consider making a resolution this year to accept and love yourself as is. Maybe you don’t really need that diet, plan or course, maybe you are great just the way you are.
Resolutions are fab, but so are you.
The steady march towards winter can feel…a bit dark. Today marks the official first day of winter with the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Where I am writing, there will be less than eight hours of sunshine today. Many cultures choose to celebrate the shortest day of the year, perhaps because starting tomorrow the days will gradually get longer and longer as the Earth’s axis rotates towards, instead of away from, the sun. In ancient times, this time of year was celebrated for the Egyptian god Osiris, Apollo and Sol Invictus, all deities with links to the sun. The Yule Log may be a delicious chocolate cake now, but thousands of years ago it was a part of the Juul festival of northern Europe and Scandinavia, where families would cut down a large tree and light it on fire for twelve days to bring good harvest and fertility for the new year in part of worship to the god Odin. In fact, some retellings of Norse mythology even have Odin delivering gifts and sweets to children during this time, centuries before Santa Claus and his reindeer. At any rate, if you are anything like me, and perhaps goats, you long for the sunshine. In that case, today is a day of hope as every day for the next six months, there will be a smidgen more sunshine to enjoy.
Don’t worry, more sunshine is on its way!
Tomorrow is Monday so let’s do this! There are only two weeks left in 2018 – did you accomplish everything you hoped, was it as magical as you dreamed? What are your aspirations, ambitions and expectations for 2019? Find a few moments in the hustle and bustle of the final holiday rush to take stock and plan ahead.
The future is bright, perhaps 2019 will be the best year yet?
Today is the first day I have updated Goat of the Day from my iPhone! Screens get a lot of criticism, including contributing to insomnia, anxiety, depression, ruining our relationships, making us terrible parents and generally slow down our brains. However, I think that the smart phone revolution has a lot of benefits for humanity. For example, it makes it a lot easier to keep tabs on old friends you may have otherwise lost contact with. My family relies heavily on calendars in order to stay organized and a lot of notes and journaling that would have required lugging around a bunch of things is eliminated – I can keep it all tucked away in my pocket! I also love being able to quickly share photographs – when I was a kid if I wanted to share photographs you would have to get the film developed and pay for prints – now with a few clicks I can send photos across the Atlantic and basically no cost as things happen. I wonder, if in a few decades the weariness over such devices will have faded the same way suspicion over other new technologies in the past.
Do you ever worry about fitting in and belonging with a group, squad or tribe? Sometimes there can be a lot of pressure to finding the right fit or going along with the flow. Many famous writers have remarked that the true path to belonging is to just be your most authentic self. It is difficult sometimes to find the balance between being your most authentic self and fitting in with others, but realizing that belonging is kind of an illusion, and happiness, belonging and less alienation happens when you just let that need for belonging go. Maya Angelou sums it up better:
You only are free when you realize you belong no place — you belong every place — no place at all
Find your own path, your own place to stand, and the rest will follow.
“Be courageous, but not foolhardy.” -the wise Maya Angelou.
Goat of the Day 