It is July 18th and I am a few days past the halfway point of The Ultimate Blog Challenge. Admittedly, it’s been more difficult than I thought to keep up with posting once per day. I generally like to take my time when I write, do some research depending on the topic and check and double/triple check my posts before sending them out into the Big Bad Internet Universe. I do not plan to keep up this pace at the end of the challenge; however, I’ve learned I have the capacity to do much more than I had been doing.
I am also participating in Camp NaNoWriMo. I made a commitment to write 20,000 words this month in short story form. My stories are based on the past few years my husband and I spent in the USVI…perhaps I will even share them here one day! I am pretty much on target for my word count at this moment. It has added to the intensity of this month, but I find it hugely confidence-building to keep the commitments I made to myself. Past behavior has shown me great at following through with commitments I make to others, but I have placed less value on the ones I make to myself. This has changed in recent years, and I am seeing the fruit of all the work I put into myself. It is exciting to witness such positive change and see the growth that has resulted from it.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ~ Rumi
Change is something that is constant; evolution is a continuous process. As the years pass I have learned to welcome that process, even to embrace it. Has this been easy? Hell no! It’s some of the most difficult work I have done to date, and I would be lying if I said I am always open to change. But I have made great strides and [I believe] it shows in my writing, in my kitchen, and most importantly, in my relationships and interactions with others. At the very least I notice it in how I view myself. This is huge.
“A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” ~Muhammad Ali
So what does any of this have to do with Cleansed Palate? To me, cleansing the palate involves change. It is about clearing the slate to make space for what it to come; getting rid of what is cluttering the path so there is room for new ‘flavors’ in your life .
So today I ask you: “What changes do you have going on in your life? What room have you made for new experiences to enter? Are you prepared to fully savor what is put before you?”