January Writer's Challenge - Week 1
New Year, New You!
Here we go! 2025 has begun!
Before we dive into the new writer’s challenge I want to take a moment to congratulate all the participants in our previous writing challenges. The August writing challenge and Project Eagle were enormously successful in my eyes and based upon the contributions many of you made I feel you would agree with me.
Some of you even published a book of your own!
I want to acknowledge all of you for your courage, vulnerability, and dedication to growth. You opened your hearts, shared your stories, and inspired not only yourself but each other as well. Thank you for being a part of such an amazing, transformative experience.
We are almost finished the book of poems from members of TimeHasCome.com who submitted their work to be featured in this collection of poetry called, “The Path of Poetry - Discover The Writer Within”. This book will also include an updated version of the August Writing Challenge and be available on Amazon very shortly.
Welcome to the January Writer's Challenge: "New Year, New You"
I am so excited about this next writing challenge. I’ve been reviewing and approving different aspects of the “Path of Poetry - Discover The Writer Within” and I’m thrilled that so many of you participated and gave it your all.
So what’s the vision for this next challenge?
This challenge is about self-improvement, self-awareness, and tuning into your heart to craft the next chapter for your life. Whether you’ve participated before or are new to these writing challenges, this one will guide you to listen deeply to your inner guidance and allow it to inspire the life you desire to create.
The theme for this January challenge is centred on consciously creating your life. This challenge encourages you to not only have a vision but also to surrender to something even better that is in store for you. While you focus on the goals and dreams you wish to create, the key is to anchor yourself in the emotional signature of how you will feel when you reach those goals.
This emotional signature is your target. As you move toward your goals, this feeling will align you with the best possible outcome. Remember, The Divine Plan is always greater than what you could imagine. There are also areas of your life you may not even realize need support, growth, or more celebration.
The Divine Plan is always waiting for you to take the leap of faith, so you can be blessed in ways beyond your imagination. When we create a vision, align ourselves with a higher power, do the inner work and then surrender to the blessings beyond our mind, our life expands beyond our wildest dreams. This is the message I am so passionate about sharing with people. I’ve been blessed in this way and I know many of you have as well. It’s impossible to experience it and not want to share it with everyone you meet.
So let’s start this year with a renewed focus on what is in our highest good, with our hearts and minds aligned. I invite you to explore your deepest desires and surrender to the blessings that life has in store for you.
Trust, Let Go & Be Open
Throughout the month of January, we will dive deep into four key areas of life:
Week 1: Health – Envisioning your ideal state of physical and energetic well-being.
Week 2: Relationships – Building meaningful and supportive relationships that nurture your growth.
Week 3: Passion/Work/Creative Gifts – Detailing a fulfilling life where your passions and talents thrive.
Week 4: Spirituality – Expanding your connection to the Divine and deepening your own spiritual practice.
Week 1: Health
Before you start this week’s challenge, do something for yourself that you know is healthy. A brisk walk, a tall glass of lemon water or simply a nice hot shower or bath. This will signal to your subconscious mind that you are investing in your well being and get you into the right mindset to create this vision for yourself. Take a moment to give thanks for the health and vitality you do have in this moment. Avoid dwelling on any challenges you currently have and instead acknowledge we are all on a journey. You still have the opportunity to improve your well being today.
My personal favourite is cranking up my music to the max and grooving to my favourite songs!
After you’re done, grab a pen and paper and follow the journal prompt followed by the poem exercise.
Journal Exercise: Imagine yourself in your next chapter of ideal physical, emotional, and mental health. Take a few minutes to bring this vision to life in your imagination. Close your eyes. See the triumphs, the slip ups and the eventual progress that leads you to your destination. FEEL your health and energy. Play some of your favourite music and allow yourself to get into it.
Now write down any moments that you saw and feelings you could sense while you were imagining yourself in the next chapter of health in your life. Once you get in the groove, you can keep writing beyond what you saw in your imagination. Write in the present tense as if you are already living this life.
Example: I am dancing with my loved one. I feel confident and vibrant. I am climbing a waterfall in Hawaii with strength and courage. I am eating clean foods that revitalize my body at my very core. I can feel toxins leaving my body and restoring my energy to optimal levels. I am surprised how good I feel at my very core. I love running barefoot on the grass and smelling the fresh scents of summer. I love wrestling with my nephews and playing childhood games. I feel youthful and flexible. Alive and grateful for it all. I am so glad I chose to make my health a priority. I feel a deep sense of love gratitude for the sacred temple that my body is. I love feeling the vitality and energy within my body as I enjoy these final steps on my hike. My legs are sore but grateful for the challenge. I feel euphoric and blessed to be here. My lungs are rich with oxygen. I lay in bed and give thanks for an adventurous day outside. My body rests deeply and I allow all necessary healing to take place. I feel all my systems cleansing and reseting now.
Poem Exercise: Scan all the writing you just did for your journal prompt. Read out loud the feelings or moments that you envisions out lout. Which ones resonate the deepest with you? Focus on the sensory experiences and emotions of living this reality. Explore and expand upon the feelings and details of this moment. It could be a magic moment of playing tag with your grandchildren or completing your first marathon with your wife. It could also be as simple as putting on your favourite outfit and feeling confident and sexy. It’s up to you!
Great!
Now, place this poem somewhere you can see it on a regular basis. Your bathroom mirror, bedside table or maybe as a wallpaper on your mobile device. The key here is to READ it to yourself whenever you see it and FEEL it.
In the Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer, Author Gregg Braden offers an expanded interpretation of John 16:23-24, which he suggests reflects the original intent of the prayer based on older Aramaic texts. According to Braden, the passage reads: ‘All things that you ask straightly, directly… from inside my name, you will be given. So far, you have not done this. Ask without hidden motive and be surrounded by your answer. Be enveloped by what you desire, that your gladness be full.’ This interpretation emphasizes the emotional and energetic alignment in prayer, focusing on how feelings and intentions shape outcomes.
If you want to share your experience of this process or if you feel inspired to share your poem, please write a comment below!
I’ll see you all next week!
Continued Blessings,
Graham
I guess I will go first. ;-) If Graham starts a new thread for submissions, I will post there, too.
"1066.."
I went for a very long walk and I never stopped
After 1066 miles, my feet and body just dropped
I went for miles and miles and many more miles
Experienced oodles and oodles of trails, trials, and smiles
To the coast, to the mountains, to Canada, I went
A valley I crossed and a peak I ascent
I huffed and I puffed as my lungs filled with air
When the going got tough, I offered a prayer
With each step, my feet felt numb with excruciating pain
I focused on the journey not the ache in my brain
The views and the vistas and nature galore
Made me forget all about the raging world war
Frog Lake is my most happiest of places
Sun, air, and wind offering me graces
Shealor Lake was a first with a stumble and glitches
Off to Kaiser I went for not one but eight stitches
Grateful for my feet that took me so far
To the moon and back and beyond that bright star
Go outside, take a walk, and breathe deeply in
Be kind, be your love, be happy in your own skin
I look forward to the weeks ahead. I wrote my first poem for this challenge and ended up writing several. I chose this one as it maybe short, but says a lot in the short verse.
ONE STEP AT A TIME
One step at a time.
Just one step to move ahead.
One step to follow through.
You can do this.
You have in the past.
Remember.
Be kind to yourself.
Acknowledge your achievement.
Acknowledge that one step.
Then take another.
One step at a time.