NaBloPoMo: Oh, yes, I did.

I was on the hunt for writing prompts today, just to shake up my blog a bit. I came across the NaBloPoMo link at BlogHer.  Blog every day for a month? Every day? How could someone have that much to say? How am I supposed to come up with ideas for everything? Thank goodness for the people at BlogHer, because they have done that work for us. Daily prompts can get the brain ticking well ahead of time.

January's theme is "Energy", as shown in a button over on the right sidebar, there. This is such an awesome theme for me - writing about energy can often bring about internal energy which brings about external energy which brings about insane amounts of wonderfulness! (*gasps for air*)

Here I go. Because I'm already late on this challenge, I'm going to combine three prompts into one. Where do I get my energy, what takes up the majority of my energy, and what I do when I'm sapped of that energy.

Ready?
Me, too.

(p.s. NaBloPoMo is short for National Blog Posting Month. It's also hard for me to write that without writing "Na-noo Na-noo." I guess I watched too much "Mork & Mindy" as a kid.)

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I suppose that I was one of those people who would drag themselves out of bed and look like this until I had my coffee:

Poor Bubba

Then I started eating better, and exercising, even - and my energy skyrocketed. I cut out coffee. I cut out sugar. I felt amazing! BRING IT ON, WORLD! My own body was enough to get me through the day; I didn't need anything else!

Then we all have those days where it is a struggle to get up. It's a struggle to write. It's a struggle to leave the house not looking like a mop that got caught in a hurricane. During those times, I look inward for energy. I pray to my Higher Power. I make myself go. Once I'm going, I'm pretty good. It's just taking that first step, right? Right. I also get my energy from family, from friends, and from these two furballs that remind me I am awesome, at least to them.

Right now, jobhunting takes up the majority of my energy. It's a full-time job, looking for full-time jobs. I spend hours a day on this little laptop, scouring the world for nurse positions, applying over and over until I reach the point I have my entire resume and job history memorized. My e-mail box is filled with "We appreciate the time you took to apply to _______, however we have moved forward with candidates that are more qualified." It's increasingly energy-sapping to receive those rejections, although I have become accustomed to it.

I am grateful for friends that are supportive, although I'm sure it's difficult for them to watch me struggle as they celebrate their new jobs. I am grateful for my family and "The Man", who continually try to boost me up with consoling words as I reach for the Kleenex once again. I am grateful for this blog, and the others I participate in, because it's an enormous emotional outlet to be able to express this internal spaghetti-fest.

On those days that seem impossible, where I huddle under blankets until noon, or have a difficult patient load (I still work as a nursing assistant), or my family is hurting, I pray for guidance. I pray for energy and strength to get me through that moment, that hour, that day. I clutch the cross that belonged to my grandmother, or an amethyst crystal, or even one of my cats, and allow the universe to refill my empty chasm.

I also go here, in my mind, between physical visits.

It's been very easy to allow silly negativity to fill me up to the point that nothing positive can ever fit in - it's also very easy to maintain an optimism to the point negativity has a hard time getting in there.

This year, I started a Kindness Jar, which I have since renamed the Blessings Jar. It's a very simple clear jar that I tied a green ribbon around - the green, for me, signifies simplicity and grace. Every day I put in a small note about something I am grateful for that day. Today's note was that it was a beautiful sunny day. It doesn't have to be prolific, it doesn't have to be deep. Just a blessing.

Blessings and energy go hand-in-hand, I believe, and this encounter with the NaBloPoMo challenge is a blessing in itself. I hope you will enjoy my Journey among the energy path this month!