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| Frost, or Isa, the Rune of Ice Attention to small things gives us real results in large things.This is my Why, and the Tao is my Way. The Rune Isa indicates stillness and reinforcement, a great theme for me this round. I'm going with a 3x5 (+1) for this, three goals with five elements each plus one life goal. Act (daily elements) - keeping in action to sustain the healthy foundation. Improvements are bonus, a happy accident of continued use over time. Morning walk -- 20 minutes Steam room and sauna meditation -- 20 minutes Hydrate -- 2+ litres throughout the day Sleep - 9p.m. to 5 a.m. Journal Connect (daily elements) -- nurture and be nurtured by my community Meetings daily Call Paula daily Call Vivian daily Friends group weekly Monthly newsletter thought of the day Sustain (weekly / monthly elements)- these are the things that keep me centered and whole, no matter what life throws at me. And trust me, life has a wicked curve ball these days. Katrina - weekly therapy Greg - weekly acupuncture Sunday - weekly reset routine Erin - monthly yoga therapy Candy - monthly hair appointment Freedom -- leveling up on financial freedom is a huge deal for a reason. It takes a lot of willpower over time, but it reaps long lasting rewards. Assess the landscape -- so much has changed since October that it needs a thorough reevaluation (Week 0-1) Plan (Week 2-3) Execute (Week 4) Weekly Monthly One-offs Challenge Item TOTAL Week 0 2/05-2/11 Week 1 2/12-2/18 Week 2 2/19-2/25 Week 3 2/26-3/05 Week 4 3/6-3/12 Morning Walk /35 Sauna meditation /35 Shower and dress for the day /35 Hydrate /35 Sleep /35 Journal /35 Sunday reset routine /5 Meeting /35 Paula /35 Vivian /35 Friends /5 Katrina /5 Greg /5 Candy /1 Erin /1

16: Returning to the root Be completely empty. Be perfectly serene. The ten thousand things arise together; in their arising is their return. Now they flower, and flowering sink homeward, returning to the root. The return to the root is peace. Peace: to accept what must be. to know what endures. In that knowledge is wisdom. Without it, ruin, disorder. To know what endures is to be openhearted, magnanimous, regal, blessed, following the Tao, the way that endures forever. The body comes to its ending, but there is nothing to fear.

Oct. 24-30 . . . Do you have the patience to wait Till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving Till the right action arises by itself? The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment Not seeking, not expecting, She is present, and can welcome all things. Stephen Mitchell’s Notes: “Mud” stands for concepts, judgments, desires, expectations -- everything that obscures and narrows reality. The Master’s life is pure and placid: Predictable like the seasons Obvious as the moon. When our mind/heart becomes transparent, the light of the Tao shines through. Great acts are made up of small deeds. M T W R F S U Meeting X X X Call Katie X X 3 Calls 3 Numbers 1 3 Prayers X X X X 3 Acts of Service 1 2 3 Gratitudes X X X X X X X 3 Positives X X X Go To Work X X X X X Walk 5k steps X Sauna Meditation X X X X X Journal X X X X X Bedtime X X X X X Water 2L Katina -- housekeeping Weekly Elements Acupuncture X Katrina X Once A Challenge Yoga Therapy Editing Test

Another simple challenge for me, because straight forward seems to be the name of the game for these 4 week challenges. I realized this weekend I tend to view things in a manner of "I need to do at least X" to feel accomplished. More is good. But I have a set level of things I like to do in order to feel accomplished. So I figured, why not make a challenge of At Least Accomplishing things? If nothing else, it lets me do a small word pun. 1) At Least... One new veggie a week I'm pretty boring with my veggies. Typically some broccoli or cauliflower or asparagus for the green/fiberous veggie, and then a sweet potato or a squash for the more starchy one. I should branch out a bit more, especially since I do like cooking. So one new thing when I go to the grocery store each week. Veggie suggestions welcome. 2) At Least... One non-aikido workout a week Yea, this will likely be a lifting workout, and therefore is an extension of the last challenge. But I'm also a bit gimpy right now, so I figure demanding a lift session a week pigeon holds me a bit too much. This at least allows me to do some rucks, yoga, or BW work. This was going to be a work out at least 6 days a week challenge, but then I realized I don't want to go crazy. Er. Crazier. 3) At Least... One aikido post per week Okay, I kind of need to get this one approved first, but... I'm a co-admin on the dojo's Facebook page. One thing that page needs is some more lift, particularly emphasizing things that are more central to our dojo. A lot of the other dojo pages I follow post semi-regularly, and I want to try and do that to see if it helps improve the page and/or nets us new students. I need to talk to the senior instructors tonight about it, but assuming that they've liked my Facebook prowess in the past, then this should be all set. 4) At least... Finish reading two books So I have two self-help/philosophy books I'm in the middle of right now. One is Level Up Your Life. The other is Walking the Way. Both I have been enjoying greatly, but I'd like to finish reading them both by the end of the challenge. So this also is the first challenge I've had in a while where self-care is not explicitly a goal. People are more than welcome to run in and double check that I'm still doing that too. Yesterday was a bit rough, but I managed to survive, so small reminders to calm the fuck down are welcome. In the mean time, expect the same rambling thoughts and processes that normally pop up during my challenges.