Here are the 52 cards of this year. What a journey!
Here we are: the last challenge, the last card. I will of course keep doodling and collecting quotes, and sharing them. But this challenge comes to its ends. Drawing a card a week was indeed acommitment, the only one I took this year (with its pendant, the french challenge). So far, I made 104 cards, 52 in french, and 52 in english, one of each for each week of the year. And it’s time for me to start something new. I don’t exactly know what I will do, but it will be fun, creative, and hopefully meaningful.
So this is the end. The end of this challenge. But absolutely not the end of anything else. Actually, this challenge was a beginning. I never thought I could share as much as I shared here during this year.And Inever thought it would touch people as it had. And it helped me going on.
So I will go on sharing.
I hope you enjoyed this journey, and that you will join me on my new trip. This is not the end, it’s only a new beginning.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: “So, I close my eyes to old ends and open my heart to new beginnings” Nick Frederickson
Pattern: cross ur heart
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
I had to face several storms in my life. Some of them just washed away all I had. But none of them took away all I was.
When I think about them, I realise that they made me stronger. They made me question my life, the way I saw it, the way I was living it, they made me take decisions to protect me from new storms to come. And they anchored my core values to my self.
That’s propably why I don’t fear challenges. I embrace them when they come on my path. I know they will teach me lessons, help me get rid of what is useless for the rest of my journey. I know I will grow, I will learn, and probably be a better person afterwards…
Of course, being in the middle of a storm, unless you are safe in a warm cosy place, is not where you want to be. It’s hard, realy tough. But if you have values and ethics strong enough to face it, then you can just watch it and let it go through your life and out of it.
And I think that it was while in the core of the storm that I really felt alive. It helped me see what was important and what wasn’t. It made me think about myself and what kind of person I wanted to be while facing it. And it made me stronger, with the firm belief that I will go through it, and that it will bring me something. With time, and experience, I learned to be pretty still and calm when dealing with a storm, watching and listening to each detail, to learn everything it has to teach me so I would remember why I needed to be taught this. I accepted storms, and the fact that they were part of my path, that I had to face them. I also learn to believe that I would make it, that I will get out of them, different, with new skills and humility.
To be honest, I can be apocalyptic too, when needed. Not to destry anyone, but to unveil the truth. Most of the time, when I have to deal with a difficulty or a challenge, I tend to do it the soft way, but if needed, if I am pushed so far that I can’t see any other option, I can be apocalyptic. I don’t really like it, but those who had to face this aspect of my personnality tend to think twice before trying it again. They also understand I had to do it, to bring balance back. Let’s say it’s part of who I am. I chose to be soft and quiet, to let go, but I still have my limits… I need to remind them where they are, sometimes…
Storms can be destructive. But they also can put us in a position that allows us to start on a better ground, a new, deeper, safer one. Then it’s up to us to build something on it, something that storms can’ destroy anymore.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: “Storms make trees take deeper roots.” Dolly Parton
Pattern: toodle
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
Time has come to think about this last year. Lately, I really felt I needed to dive into it.
To me, this year was divided into 2 parts. The first one, from january to july, was mainly dedicated to cope, to go through difficult and meaningful dates, to be able to live a life ‘almost’ back to normal. To survive in fact. It was necessary I guess, because it helped me to deal with what needed to be dealt with. Not an easy time, but a rich one. A time to meet the one I am now, to be aware of my weaknesses as well as my strengths. To catch everything I needed to go on with the rest of the year.
And this second part, let me tell you, was…. is…. amazing. It was time for me to get to understand all the lessons I learned, how I grew through these hard times, to realise I had desires still, that I was living. I spent the summer getting rid of the last things and feelings that were putting me down. And to show to the world the one I had become. To accept myself as I was. To free myself from anything that was preventing me to be, fully be.
What a journey!! I am now in peace with myself, with almost everything and anything actually. I learned to let go, to accept, and to find balance. I learned a lot about myself and how I could express it. I gained respect just by being the one I am. I was a bit anxious about my reactions to some people actions, but everything went well, as I just didn’t really care. I didn’t need to write or say daily affirmations, I lived them. I didn’t have to be pro active, I just went and lived.
I guess this is the main lesson I learned this year: to be. To live in harmony with myself. To be the expression of it. And to walk my head up high, a smile on my face, confident on my ability to deal with peopke and actions according to my values and core beliefs. To make each step forward a victory. To see people and situations as they are, without judgement but a will to understand, not necessarily to excuse. To be able to explain my views, peacefully but firmly. To stand for myself, with strength but peacefully. To raise the debate and show integrity. To gain respect because of both my actions and words. And to let go of any negativity. To remember why I am here and what for. And to accept to go on that way.
As the year reaches its end, I find myself really thoughtfull and surprisingly, I really feel in peace, both physically ad mentally. I am where I am supposed to be. I am doing what I am supposed to do. I am the one I am supposed to be. What a rich, deep journey!
The next two weeks will probably bring me more to ponder. And give me hints on what is waiting for me with this new year… I am ready.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: « Shine like the whole universe is yours. » Rumi
Pattern: petal pusher
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
What keeps us going? What motivates us to go further, deeper? What is the spark within that makes us become the one we are supposed to be?
I don’t know for others. But to me, it’s a simple thought: somewhere, somehow, something incredible is waiting to be discovered. And I mean dis-covered. I guess it’s the will to understand things, or at least to bring a meaning to them. After all, understanding things is something really hard to do. I mean, the way I understand events, behaviours, people are often really different than the way other people may understand them. I should then say « interpret things ».
When you learn to step back, to really take the time to observe, to let go, your vision of the world around you is really different than it used to be. Priorities, interests, emotions, nothing is the same anymore. And it’s allright. After all, you are not the same either.
Letting go of fear is something I am really grateful. I don’t live in fear of anything, which allows me to focus on the journey, the landscape, the people I meet. As my mind is decluttered from all those little triggers, it can open and give me the opportunity to enjoy each moment.
So yes, what motivates me is the deep strong feeling that there are beautiful and wonderful moments yet to be lived, somewhere, some time, somehow. And it makes me feel really good about my life.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: « Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. » Carl Sagan
Pattern: odee
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
I don’t really remember when I decided to just let go of everything that was holding me back. But there is one thing I am sure of: I don’t regret it one second. My life is really simpler, more enjoyable and meaningful.
When I think about it, I realise that it was really simple and so freeing. I just follow my desires, and do what I feel I should do. And to my surprise, everything falls into place! It’s an amazing feeling: to know you are on the right path because everything goes in the same direction, or helps you to go on.
For years, I shut down this part of me. It was also the time I tried to survive, and so I guess I needed to live my life that way for a while. You can easily get caught in your everyday life, just trying to get to the end of each day without too much harm. And live one day at a time, without thinking about your dreams, without even thinking about having dreams, or desires. Just live through the day.
And a day, I decided it was time for me to stop surviving and to start to live my own life. Mine. Following my rules, my desires, my way. It was so easy, to obvious. I just made a first step and another, and another. Being confident, with this intimate knowledge I was doing the right thing.
By doing so, I live in harmony with myself, and it gives my life a whole new meaning. It’s richer, deeper, and so so exciting! Eacha nd every morning, I wake up wondering what will be the next step, where my journey will take me, and I am confident it will be a good day, as long as I listen to my self. My soul, my heart. Whatever it is that drives me on the right path. My path.
I don’t really have a goal, but it doesn’t matter. I really enjoy each step of my journey.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: «Follow your dreams, they know the way.
Pattern:fili
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
Sometimes, when you are lucky (or when you need them), words or quotes appear on your computer screen. I had his words appearing on my feed several times. I then checked on instagram and follow him for a while now. And I purchased his book as soon as I could. I am addicted to his words I guess.
He is known as j. iron word and you can find him here, on instagram.
Anyway, this week quote is one of his, and it really spoke to me, in a deep, meaningful way. In two sentences, he could put in words what I feel for a while now.
We are made from the choices we took, the people who came and went out of our life. But still, we are not confined to the limits of what our past is. We are still living, we are still learning, still growing. So our past shouldn’t stop us from being. Being who we are, who we want to be.
When we understand that, things are getting clearer, not easier but clearer. And we can enjoy all these little things we meet on our journey.
My past made me the one I am today. It taught me skills, resilience, and strength. I learned a lot on my way to today. I explored my dark side, had dark days. But I don’t regret it. because this is why I am the one I am now. The one who can enjoy the brighter side of life. I learned to have my own way of seeing things, of feeling them, and I can rely on that.
It also open the fields of infinite possibilities. I can be or do whatever I want to be or do. It freed me too.
So, what are you waiting for getting rid of this idea that you are your past? You are your now.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: « You past helped make you, but it does not define you. You are on a path all your own, with a future that knows no limits. » j. iron word
Pattern: Conoor
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
This week, I have this thought in mind: we are conquerors of Life. We always have been, it’s in our genes… We are drawn to the unknown, and we accomplished so much when… we got rid of fear.
Fear is a powerful thing. Until we decide it doesn’t matter anymore. As I probably already wrote earlier, I had ‘the luck’ to face my biggest fears. I didn’t really have a choice then… I had to step out my confort zone to fight them. I lost some battles, won others. What really matters in reality is that I DID something to face them. I took action. By doing so, I freed myself of their power over my life.
Each of us as a personal struggle to deal with. i guess it’s our main lesson yet to be learned. When we take action and so what we are most afraid of doing, we actually free ourselves from this fear, and we learn our lesson. It’s a matter of will, you know… And a bit of this ancestral power we all have within: our explorer genes talking.
When we step into the unknown, we open fields of possible, doors on possibilities we never dared dreaming of. And this gives Life a whole new meaning.
So what are you afraid of? Just do it and see where it leads you. The journey will be a full one, no doubt about it…
So here is your challenge:
Quote: « Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free. »
Pattern: dewd
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
When I think about my life so far, it brings me a smile, usually. There isn’t really anything to smile about, but I am lucky to have a life that is everything but boring.
I am not made for easy journeys, I guess. I could have gone against it, trying to stay on track. But I chose to embrace it as it came. Taking each bump on the road as a lesson yet to be learned. And this is what makes it so full.
I wouldn’t be the one I am today without all theses bumps. And I can’t imagine what my life would have been then. Even if I try. I see my life as such a rich journey. Of course, I would have loved to avoid some events. I would have kept my daughter alive. But she is the one who gives me the energy that guides me on this new path I have to walk. And it’s the memory of her smile that makes me smile. I now live for the two of us. And she wouldn’t live small. So it’s up to me to live each and every second at its fullest.
To me life is a beautiful way to grow. And I am grateful I got to grow in my own way, and to be able to share some of it now. And at the end of the day, that’s what really matters: growing.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: « Without rain nothing grows, learn to embrace the storms of your life.
Pattern: walp
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
So I came back home after a week on the Mediterranean sea coast. In a place Emma loved and where she spent wonderful days, full of friends, laughter and good memories. It’s the first place we went on vacations after the diagnosis, and I am sure this place increased the way we saw things then: live one day at a time, at its fullest.
When we went there last year, without her, it was painful, but also conforting. She was everywhere, we walked on her steps remembering each and every details…. Heartbreaking but necessary I think to allow us (my parents and I) to really acknowledge her absence.
This year, it was a whole different story. I didn’t miss her. I could hear her laugh, see her at the swimming pool or on the plaza, playing with her friends, a huge smile on her face. I only had to close my eyes. And it wasn’t painful. It made me smile. They only were memories of who she was, full of life and joy. Nothing to be sad about. Everything to be grateful for.
So we came back home. And this smile is still on my face. I found far more than good memories, I found the essence of her. And I brought it back to me, wondering why it took me that long.
That, the sun I watch rising every morning, the walks with my father, music perfect to go with this journey, and some online poets. This is the recipe to the remedies I took. And suddenly, everything was crystal clear, my last shackles turned into dust. It took me 3 days to calm down my inner tsunami after it wiped away all that needed to go.
I am ready for a new adventure, a smile on my face. And it will be a wonderful one, a rare one, as I bring Emma’s essence along. It will be made of words, and feelings, and life.
I have no regrets. How can I? All this put a smile on my face.
So here is your challenge:
Quote: « Never regret anything that made you smile.” Mark Twain
Pattern: wooooooo
Here are the rules of the challenge:
And here is my card:
Césame et ses états d'âme 