what is radvent? (hint: it starts tomorrow!)
Posted on 30. Nov, 2011 by Princess Lasertron in radvent
Last year, I started a new annual tradition in my life called Radvent, a holiday journaling challenge, and invited my readers to play along. Reading the responses from everyone who decided to participate on their own blogs, and reading e-mails from those who chose to journal privately in their own pen-and-paper diaries was one of the best things about my holiday season last year. I couldn’t be more re-energized right now to dive into the challenge of daily writing!
It was a long year of ups and downs that inspired me to start Radvent in 2010–a year that I thought was more tumultuous and changing than any in memory for me. What I learned in 2011 is that the way each year plays out is all about my perception, my attitude, and the choices I make about how to react to things. On paper, 2011 has been a dramatic year with waves of challenges washing over me each month, pulling back opportunity into the sea. Swimming after every project and every idea that I wanted to do left me treading water too often. It can become easy to overlook all the beauty in the world as we are constantly surrounded by it, and one of the simplest things we can do to re-connect with the moment is to write. Slow down, reflect, and remember the beauty and magic of the last twelve months as we ride the next wave into 2012!
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Each day this December I’m keeping a Radvent Journal to honor and celebrate the lessons, joy, and beauty of 2011 and re-examine my goals and hopes for the coming year!
Every morning until Christmas you can wake up to a new post with a thought-provoking journaling prompt paired with inspirational quotes, photos, and even a special project or two. I’ll also share my own reflections and answers every day, and you can upload your own responses to the bottom of each post.
Won’t you join me?
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It all begins tomorrow, December 1st with Challenging. The first day is about finding gratitude for things that are most difficult for us, and making a personal decision to overcome a hang-up that has been holding us back from loving ourselves. It ends with some suggestions you can use to push through self-doubt and insecurity to become a person better able to offer your gifts to yourself and the world.
There are a few functionality changes on the blog (thanks to your suggestions) that should make it even easier to follow along and participate in Radvent. The Princess Lasertron homepage is now in scrolling form, so you can see eight posts on each page rather than just one. That way, if you miss a day, it’ll take a lot less effort to catch up! When you click to comment on each post, you can also click “tweet this” and “like this” to share the post with your friends on Twitter or Facebook. I know this is not new technology to most of you but I couldn’t be more relieved and excited to finally have it as part of my layout!
If you’re as eager as I am to get going with Radvent 2011, start by going through your old blog posts from this year and reflecting on how much you have changed and grown, and all the wonderful experiences you had. (Maybe experiences that weren’t so great–how did you get through them?) If you don’t want to blog your responses, find a special notebook where you can record your Radvent reflections each day and put it somewhere accessible–on your bedside table, in your favorite purse, on the passenger seat. Finally, check out last year’s Radvent posts for some inspiration to get you started.
As meditation expert Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn said, “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn how to surf.” Let Radvent be a gift to yourself this year–take time for yourself every day to reflect on your magical, fantastic uniqueness! Preserve the memories and experiences from this time in your life so you can learn from them, share them, and revisit them any time.
It starts tomorrow!
xo
meg
22 Responses to “what is radvent? (hint: it starts tomorrow!)”
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Brook Hudson
02. Dec, 2011
7:51 am
Gawd you are SUCH a leader. Love this.
Princess Lasertron
02. Dec, 2011
3:25 pm
ha…I don’t know about that. I just go and I invite you to come along.
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jenn
01. Dec, 2011
8:46 pm
Hi! We haven’t met, but I think we have some friends and acquaintances in common and I peek at your beautiful creations every once in a while. I love the Radvent concept! I am participating in a December photo project and starting a blog and trying to figure out how Radvent can fit into it all … I might just have to make the journaling a personal project rather than part of the other two. Either way, great idea and thanks for the inspiration! –jenn
Princess Lasertron
02. Dec, 2011
3:25 pm
thanks jenn!
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caro
01. Dec, 2011
4:20 am
Fabulous! I’ve been wondering whether you’d do Radvent again – that’s how I discovered your blog last year! Lovely project, so glad you’re doing it again.
Jordan
01. Dec, 2011
1:12 am
Hi! I just wanted to say, I have been following you religiously for about a year, ever since you spoke to my Journalism class at UNO. It was a difficult time of self-rediscovery and I always looked forward to reading your posts because they are so genuine, well thought out and RELATABLE- you acknowledge your flaws but work actively to be who you really want to be. I’m inspired by you to push myself and live for my true passions all the time and I am so excited to participate in Radvent this year! Thank you for being awesome.
Sarah Rooftops
30. Nov, 2011
5:39 pm
Ooh, I was gutted I discovered Radvent too late last year. I might not manage every day, but I’m excited to follow along.
Erin B.
30. Nov, 2011
4:51 pm
Yay! I’m super excited. I wanted to participate last year, but lost the nerve. I am so doing this in 2011!
ashlie
30. Nov, 2011
1:42 pm
I’m excited! I wanted to participate last year, but since my daughter was born on December 8th, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to keep up! Bring it on this year!
Elizabeth
30. Nov, 2011
12:31 pm
So weird. I’m reading Full Catastrophe Living by Kabat-Zinn right MEOW. I have been meaning to since I took a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction workshop last year. . .my birthday is this weekend, and it seemed an appropriate time to break it out for my next year.
Hope all is well, Meg!
xoxo
Elizabeth
georgia
30. Nov, 2011
11:55 am
I’m in!!! Love radvent!
Brittan
30. Nov, 2011
10:30 am
I am definitely doing this this year. I’m going to write freeform in my journal and then do a photo/summary each day on the blog. I think that will help me sort everything out for myself before I go public with it. It’s like free therapy!
Erin
30. Nov, 2011
9:41 am
I’m so excited for this! I had really good intentions and wanted to do it last year but just didn’t. But now it is on my calendar and I’m ready! After the year I’ve had I know RADVENT will be a great thing to do to reflect, re-energize and get my creative juices flowing again. Thanks for sharing!