Approaching The New Year
I have had a play around in Blogland and managed to actually visit and read other blogs and as one would expect at this time of year they are all filled to the brim with shiny new hope and goal setting.
As a trained Life Coach I know about this field and how to succeed. I don’t make resolutions, I make plans. Then I chase my way through all the obstacles to victory or a soothing acceptance somewhere close by.
I had a trawl through our own archives here and found some GEMS that I will link you up to, recommended reading for sure. As a blogger, I have been carrying the thought of my New Year message since Christmas, when as you remember I was offline and absorbing the full 3D reality of life in the big, wide world.
Reviewing Resolutions
ARCHIVED NEW YEAR / GOAL SETTING LINKS
https://awritersfountain.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/new-year-new-you-writing-resolutions/
It seems last year I did make resolutions, the best thing about this post ^ is knowing the results 12 months later;
Here are my resolutions – feel free to commit some of your own down in response to this post.
I am working towards a collection of poems for a pamphlet. I sent 2 manuscripts, both were rejected but one showed promise and I continue to make this my personal project of 2015. The process has opened up a whole new world. I had the wardrobe, now I have to find my way around Narnia!
I am starting work as an Assistant Writer with hope of having a position as a Lead Writer in 2015. I am coming up to 12 months as an Assistant Writer for WWM and have also been 1 of 3 writers picked as mentors for a term.
I am going to have a big presence on the Performance Circuit in the hope of being booked for guest spots by the end of the year. I managed 107 events, some were open mics, other were gallery openings, art projects, festivals, commissions, collaborations, everyone of them was a delight! I performed alongside many amazing people and have just had my 2nd Headline/ Main guest booking!
I will submit poetry for publication. I did! Some was published, others rejected, all were new writing fresh from my pen.
I will write some short stories for competitions. I did, I have shelved this as I was not particularly successful in this field although I corresponded with some incredible people and had a few close misses. However, posts I wrote back in 2013 about writing short stories are still top of the stats several years later.
https://awritersfountain.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/writing-short-stories-tips-on-planning-and-structure/
https://awritersfountain.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/putting-the-stones-in-first/
Truth
I spent the holidays reading a rather large book which was an emotional mountain for me, reaching the peak took several attempts and I needed to find more strength to finish the final chapters. It was far from an easy read (and yet still enjoyable) it is the kind of book I have always imagined writing, the sort of book that I didn’t believe existed, the sort of book I have needed to read for years, but wouldn’t have been strong enough or open enough before now (and it was still being written) there in the final pages I found shining out at me ,a New Year message.
The book is 
by Rachel Kelly http://www.blackrainbow.org.uk/
I recommend it for any families with depression sufferers, as someone suffering it might be a monumental challenge but a worthwhile one.
I accepted help in 2012 and have been on medication (and other treatment) ever since, I spent the first 3-4 years trying to self help, medicate naturally and hid it from myself and others. I was diagnosed as high functioning but had slam-dunked the Beck Test, severe depression. It is something that affects lots of creative minds.
Part of my healing came from reading and later writing (journaling emotions initially) and eventually writing again after a 15 year break and finally entering back into the world of Poetry, all of which supports me in my day to day living.
I acknowledge that I attacked 2014 on the LIVE circuit with a vigour that was only possible to maintain through mania and that I myself need to calmly tread into 2015, stay behind the desk a little more, get things done, write my own rainbows. I’ve started, I am 90k into a manuscript that is still growing and assembling some shape, finding that there are books out there written by people who have lived it, that work to lift your head to a different space is exhilarating and I will definitely pursue my own version of such a record, more books like this are needed.
Having said that, the diary for January is already filling up and brimming with a few exciting new ventures. More on that later.
Rainbows
Look out for my post on Rainbows COMING SOON!
Until then, spend some time considering what you want to discover in this new year. Look around you, be a part of that.
Dream big & keep writing
ADDITIONAL LINKS
About one in 10 people, possibly more, in the UK will experience depression during their lifetime. However, the exact number is hard to estimate because many people do not get help, or are not formally diagnosed with the condition. When sadness and other symptoms of depression are intense and last for long periods of time, they can signal clinical depression or major depression, a serious medical illness that needs professional care.
SOURCE: http://www.webmd.boots.com/depression/default.htm 
Low Mood and Depression Audio NHS
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Oh, you remember, Jo Bell – 500+ poets yadee, yadee – are having a workshop and book launch for the 52 prompt book on the 31st January – and had I been on retreat I may not have made this event, which is in the diary and is a bright way of seeing out January 
– just as today was a bright day to see it in!
awritersfountain 