New year, new mantra & giveaway
Resolutions are tricky. They can take the shape of an army of ‘shoulds’ with pointy viscous teeth and funny artillery rather than actual manifestations of change. So, this year, let’s make New Year’s mantras. Something you can repeat in quiet moments or repeat to create a desperately needed quiet moment for yourself throughout the year.
I’m no expert on mantras, but I’ve had a few in my day. Keep it short, something that can be said in a simple exhale. It doesn’t have to be a sentence; it can even be a few words you want to focus on. Present tense is always good for manifesting, e.g. “I am” vs. “I will”. Other than those general guidelines, there are no rules. Your mantra is your very own.
Speaking of manifesting, I’ve recently ventured into the wild world of fermentation with projects like culturing my own yogurt (and then straining it, and using the whey for other things), lacto-fermentation (both with and without whey) and even an apple scrap vinegar adventure. I’m hooked and so are my pals back in Brooklyn who have mastered the fine art of kombucha, a fermented tea beverage.
As a special New Year’s alterna-resolution kind of thing, Kombucha Brooklyn has offered up to one lucky reader a home brew kit, a very real and easy way to grow and integrate live-cultured beverages into your existing life. No ‘shoulds’ or ‘I really need to learns’ necessary.
;)
Here’s the info listed on their website about the kit:
KBBK Kombucha Home Brew Kit is an easy, fun and cost-effective kit for making your very own kombucha at home! Everything you need to make your own delicious and healthful kombucha is inside. From instructions to ingredients to a jar to to brew it in, it’s all there. And the special bonus : access to the Kombuchman himself to answer all your brewing questions and guide you on your quest for the perfect ‘buch! Check out our video to see how easy it is.
Included in each Home Brew Kit are the following tried and true components:
- USDA Certified 1 Gallon glass jar
- 100% Organic cotton cover
- Rubber band
- 1 Brew’s worth of KBBK’s hand-selected blend of fair trade, organic teas
- 1 Brew’s worth of organic, fair trade cane sugar
- 1 Temperature Indicator Strip
- Very detailed instructions
- KBBK’s pristinely propagated Scoby (culture) with liquid starter
To enter: leave a comment below with your New Year mantra by Thursday, January 12 at midnight EST for a chance to win the brew kit. Since my pals in Brooklyn are a small biz and this is a relatively heavy kit, they’re unable to ship to anywhere besides the US. I wish I could offer to front shipping to anywhere, but at the moment I’m a super-small biz, too and can’t really swing it. I do hope my international readership will still share a mantra, though! (p.s. if you don’t enter your email address in the box on the comment form where it asks for it, I won’t be able to contact you and you won’t win.) Winner will be selected by random.org, but everyone who enters will receive a 20% off coupon code good for goods in their online shop!
I can’t very well ask you to share a personal mantra without also sharing mine, so here it is, a few words from a Rilke poem translation that have sat within me for some time:
Kate
Congrats to #63, Karina from Montana!
Good vibes, happy mantra’ing all. Enjoy your new year.
Fermentation, Giveaways, Inspiration
Reader Comments (73)
This year I have finally gotten my family on board with completely turning around their diets. No more processed foods, no sugar, etc. I am also doing MAJOR organizing and purging projects around the house. My mantra for 2012 is, "It will all be worth it in the end!"
while I can't enter the giveaway (stupid Canadian citizenship!) I can share my mantra... It's not as short and sweet as yours but I think I'm gonna come up with a shorthand for it: Live Smaller, Love Better, Find Joy, Craft More, Be in the Moments... Maybe "Smaller;Better"... just as a reminder. :)
My mantra: Less is more.
In 2012 I would like to devote more time to doing little things for myself: going to yoga, making cookies, reading, making kombucha!, etc.
2012 mantra: Let yourself fall in love.
Simplify.
"Here and Now"
In 2011 I realized what power there is in being fully present. I want to extend the practice into more moments.
my mantra will be sew......sew as often and as much as I can because that is what gives me joy and helps me to relax.
My Mantra - Each day is a blessing, treat it like one.
"Remember the positive daily". It's so much easier to tackle an issue with a smile, don't you think?
My new year's mantra is "never give up". I had a tough 2011, and looking forward to a better 2012.
I got my mantra inspiration from a bird I saw in the street, running between cars and weaving throughout traffic, getting nowhere. So now I say about 2012: Don't frantically run about so; remember that you have wings!
love fearlessly
My mantra this year is going to be:
Be thankful, be joyful.
To remind me to be thankful for all the things I have and to take joy in all things.
I suppose a good mantra for what I'm trying to do is 'make, bake and grow'. In 2011 I've been making and baking, but now I'd like to try growing. My own fruit, veg and herbs in order to cook seasonally with some of my own produce, and learning to do it well in a tiny plot. I've a long way to go!
By the way, I love your blog and have already bought the book from Amazon - I'm very new to the blog scene so am out and about making friends...feel free to come over and have a nosy at what I've been doing :) I've only just 'gone public' so I hope you like what you see.
Virtual love, Carrie X
My mantra comes from an Avett Brothers song: "Decide what to be and go be it."
Because I don't have kids, that's why.
A.K.A. do it, silly.
Much like post #1, last year was big. This year I will Floss Daily.
My 2012 mantra:
Be mindful, grateful, and find joy in each day!
Blessings to you all for a happy, healthy, and exuberant year ahead. -Amy
Humility, Gentleness, Patience, and Love
I've been obsessed with reading novels for the past four years. Delving into other people's lives has given me solace and inspiration. During a period of my life when I didn't know who to be or what to do, reading about possibilities, albeit fictional, has helped me to make sense of my own life and purpose. I have not as thoroughly enjoyed the last few months of reading. So I'm going to start writing instead. Could use some Kombucha tea to drink as I compse!
My theme and mantra for 2012 is:
"Stop reading and start writing."
Happy New Year!
I would love to win this. Kombucha is so tasty.
My mantra is "2012 is the year of positivity!"
My wife and I went to an end of year bonfire ceremony where you write down the things you want to let go of then throw the paper into the fire. After that you write down what you want for the next year and throw that into the fire. I inadvertently saw my wife's wish for the new year when it blew out of the fire right at me. (It wasn't magic or anything, the wind was blowing in my direction.) Her note said "Harmony." Wow. That brought tears to my eyes and blew my mind. We had kind of been at odds for a year. Or two. Funny how sometimes, years in, you get off track without even realizing it. I had no idea she was wishing for harmony in her life - in our lives.
Harmony. That is my new mantra and what I plan to give her every single day this year and forever.
My new mantra is "All time is free time." If I'm unhappy with where I am currently or what I'm doing, I just need to remind myself that I've chosen to be in this place. If it's not beneficial to my well-being, I need to change it.
I lost a lot in 2011, but I don't want to focus on the negatives and be scared of losing more. My mantra for 2012 is to embrace what I have and move boldly forward.