new habits for a new month

I've been meaning to write my usual monthly 'looking back & looking forward' post, but I don't think the format is really working for me any more. Originally the idea was to look at the last month, what I enjoyed, what I did well and what I'd like to improve and to then move mindfully into the next month. This is not, however, what the series has become for me. It's a burden rather than a pleasure and is not promoting mindfulness.

I've decided, therefore, to start each new month with an intention, a focus around which I will create and maintain new habits that will enrich my life. And for this month...?

In June, my focus is to document simple day-to-day joys

This month I want to focus on the way I look at the world. I've fallen into a trap in recent weeks of allowing the negative to overwhelm the positive, to see stress and fear and overlook the simple joys. Just before I lost my job, I ordered a bulk lot ten rolls of film with the intention of getting back into the habit of taking analogue shots as well as digital ones. I miss the simplicity of film and the value of each shot. Digital allows you to take thirty crappy shots of the same thing whereas film demands you take time to be mindful of the lighting and the framing of each picture. When the package arrived today, I knew exactly how I needed to proceed. What film photography represents to me is a way of seeing the beauty in the world.

This month I want to relearn how to see. To take notice of simple joys, I've decided I'll need to do a few simple things:

001. write daily
002. take more photos
003. be grateful

I'm going to write three longhand pages every night, take a roll of carefully curated shots throughout the month and list three different things every day for which I am grateful.

I'll keep you posted.