[I'm participating in Gwen Bell's Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, in case you're all like, what's with the theme?]

Project. What did you start this year that you’re proud of?

I started viewing life differently. Which made me start approaching it differently. More honest. More open. Fewer layers. Less bureaucracy. Asking for what I want. Asking for what I need. Allowing silence. Settling into my own skin.

It’s changed things. When I remember my mental space from a year back, it feels like I”m wearing a cheap, ill-fitting suit. With a sweat moustache. This year? It’s about what I’m doing, who I’m loving, how I’m moving through the world. Totally different.

I’m proud, yeah, but more than that, I’m simply grateful.

[PS, I never get tired of that photo. Taken by yours truly at a brewery in Wellington, NZ.]