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Hello Readers! Happy Spring!

I love March and watching the tiny new leaves emerge from the tree branches in my backyard. A sense of excitement permeates my being, as I watch nature’s rebirth with its various shades of green blanketing the horizon in every direction. My thoughts instantly fill with book ideas.

As a kid, I loved spring and waited to the very last minute to come insight. I spent hours exploring, building, and creating from the treasures I found. As an adult, spring always energizes me, and I want to spend hours outside exploring like I did as a kid.

Earlier this month, I spent the weekend sitting for hours under my tree, on the ground, reading. The birds chattered, a lonely cricket sang as I enjoyed the lovely, warm pre-spring day. No lawn chairs, nothing fancy, just me and the backyard feathered and furry attendees.

The simplicity of enjoying the afternoon, with no distractions, felt luxurious, and a rarity. Especially today, with our digital devices, streaming subscriptions, and computers demanding our attention. Remember to enjoy the newness of spring time, go outside, leave digital technology inside, and savor your surroundings. 

Mystic Book Update

Last November, I started posting book updates on my author Facebook page. I have yet to come up with a book title, which is a bit concerning as the editing team continues to work through the manuscript. Editing is laborious and tedious, taking dozens of hours to complete, but it’s the most important part of book writing. 

 In April, I will launch a crowdfunding / pre-book sale to raise funds to cover the book’s costs. For the latest updates, please follow my Facebook Page. Next month, I will resume posting book updates on Instagram.

Many of you may have heard or read about ChatGTP or GPT4. It’s an open-source artificial intelligence – machine learning system that can create poetry, write plays, research papers, and get accepted to college. I am concerned how this technology will impact the literary and book publishing industry. Already, individuals are using the machine learning to write books to sell on Amazon.

I can’t imagine outsourcing my creativity and imagination to an AI or read a book written by a machine.

Testing New Products

In the past month, I’ve started researching the viability of expanding product offerings under the Dillon 5 brand. These products would include a calendar styled personal journal, limited edition artistic quality die-cut stickers, and adult coloring books.

I would love to hear your feedback, and if you regularly purchase these products. And, if you are a fan of stationery and journaling.

Thank you for your continued support! I love hearing from you!

Cheers,

Tiffany

Hello,

Five years ago, I stopped making new years resolutions. I realized the statements were empty chatter – eat better, work more, run more miles, go to sleep earlier, reduce screen time, and so forth. The open-ended goals had no context and were often imposed by others. So, instead of writing empty resolutions, I wrote specific, defined goals.

On January 1st, I reviewed my 2022 goals. As I read through the list, my stomach dropped as I realized only one goal, resembled who I was. Once again, the statements I wrote were a representation of what others expected me to be. Not who I was or what I wanted. A sense of emptiness washed over me as I stared at the paper. Who was this person that wrote these words? My stomach churned like an angry sea, as I wondered why had I written these goals. The awareness stung. I knew, achieving these goals would take me off course, again.  

Awareness is a gift you can’t return. Once you gain new awareness, any previous perception of the situation evaporates, making it impossible to undo the awareness. I thought, whatever we tell ourselves at the beginning of each year must reflect our soul’s authenticity. Chasing hallow pursuits of others, chains us to the past and drains our precious energy. As I write this post, I thought – what if I write nothing this year, and instead, listen to my intuition? What if I take a leap of faith and trust that a road map will appear when needed? What if I make real, lasting changes, that I have longed to make?

As I contempt making changes, the thought scares the crap out of my ego. Who quickly searches the internet to delay me. However, this year is different. I am considering creating a modern Walden Pond experience by limiting screen time, spending more time outside, focusing on what matters most and then holding myself accountable. Most importantly, avoid being derailed. Often, we willingly give away ourselves (scrolling instead of pursing our dream, engaging in toxic relationships, ignoring our intuition, etc) without asking why.

On the second page of my 2023 calendar there are blank links to write yearly goals or resolutions. The empty space nudges and begs for my attention as I suspect it feels lost without definitive 2023 goalposts. For now, the lines remain blank. No longer can I lie to myself or write about society’s or someone else’s goals. While page waits impatiently, I seek within myself crystal transparency and raw honesty without any excuses. To make decisions about my life from a silent place instead of a crowded room with individual opinions disarming my internal compass.

To write our 2023 goals or affirmations, we need a quiet place, that is ours and ours only. A place we can explore who we are and what we seek to do and achieve, or not achieve. We have a choice to write or not write new year’s resolutions. We can do something different, select a theme word or affirmation statement. Or think about resolutions or goals we would have written as a child. We own what we write.

For now, my new year’s focus is being mindful about my thoughts and replace irrelevant and obsolete negative messages with positive affirmations as I envision the new year’s journey.

Tiffany