This last month has been packed full of internal changes for me. Several experiences gave way to my questioning beliefs and thoughts by which I conduct my life, and though I felt like the rug was pulled from under my feet at times it all served me to look closely at structures which only perpetuate an ego-based way of living.

I feel that the main thing that we do in life is our own internal development, and so I am grateful for the experiences that make me shed more layers of ego-based beliefs.

I am also quite a practical person, so the main reward that I extract from all I learn is being able to keep living my life from a more centered perspective, so to interact with people in a way which brings more peace and compassion to us all.

I have also had my husband's sister and mom visiting in London for a week. I always enjoy the time with them - they are both loving and kind women, as well as extremely strong, and I am thankful for all the good advice about life that they share with me.

We visited the British Museum among other places, where I enjoyed a little stall in which you could actually touch items and know more about them with the explanations of a member of staff.

I held in my hands a necklace made of dolphin teeth, dated around the 1700s (see the picture). Apparently fishermen would use everything from the animals they captured, and the teeth of dolphins were used as coins or to make necklaces to give to the important men of the tribe.

As I held the necklace in my hands, I felt this warm, soft, loving energy, and the image of dolphins came to mind. It felt all of a sudden as if the energy that the dolphins carried through their lives was still alive in the teeth that made the necklace.

And then I remembered that we are able to access that soft warm energy whenever we want, because we all contain the whole universe within us. Bringing this kind of eternal love into our daily life is, I feel, what these times call for.

If you are to take just one thing of value from this newsletter, please let it be the thought that you can bring love, compassion and peace to your interactions with others, if that is your will. Then, observe yourself in action! ;)

A few weeks ago I went to buy a new diary for 2013.

Setting up my diary for the coming year is a ritual for me. You see, my diary is very special to me: it contains not only lists of to-do things, but also thoughts, drawings, memories, dreams, wishes... I even paste on it things like flowers, leaves, or pieces of paper I come across. It really feels like a writing testimony of my life.

I went into the stationery shop seeking a diary just like the one I've had for 2012. But browsing through many types of diaries, I found a very special and different diary. It had no lines. All it had was blank pages with the date on top.

It felt like a sign: living my life with no lines - where every day is a blank page, ready for me to make of it whatever I want. So I bought it and I'm now in the process of making a new cover for it.

In the same line my thoughts in the past month have been directed towards how it is that each of us creates our own life, and how much we do/say or don't do/say as a reaction to what other people are about.

We tend to compare ourselves to others - am I as beautiful as that person? Am I as as active, or as organized, or as easy-going, or as interesting as that other person? Do I seem to live my life as fully as that person does?

However, if you ditch the idea of comparing yourself to others then what's next is a blank canvas, like the blank pages of my 2013 diary, all open for you to create what you want. To be the person that you want to be, because it pleases you, not because you think you 'have' to be that person.

We're just over a month away from starting a new year. This is the perfect moment to bring your life up a notch and start thinking how it is that you want to experience yourself within your life.

Maybe it's time you look deeply inside and observe that you have chosen a job, a partner, a behaviour, a personality or a lifestyle that you don't really like but that you thought you 'had' to choose because of whatever reason.

And so you can then make a decision that you are going to live your life, as much as possible, choosing to experience yourself in the way that most pleases you. You can choose to create your life, one day at a time, with only one standard in mine: yours.

Here's a little formula for creating my own life that I have started to bear in mind as I conduct my daily life:

1. Look at what you want.

2. Look at where you're at in relation to what you want.

3. Take small steps towards bridging the gap between what you want and where you're at.

That's it. No comparison to others, no standards other than your own. No massive scary jumps - just little steps that will bring you in due time to wherever you want to be.

I'll give you an example of how I apply the formula: I want to be a person who can keep a sense of humour at all times, specially during difficult circumstances. Where I'm at: I'm usually lighthearted, but I can get very trapped by emotions when life gets tough. A step that I'm taking to bridge the gap: I'm watching a series of Monty Python movies and sketches and absorbing the quality of seeing the funny side in a variety of scenarios.

Seems like my adding humour to life is working - given the difficulties that 2012 has presented for most of us, I thought the other day of creating a t-shirt which reads "I survived 2012" :)

So what is it that you want to create in your life? Take this remaining time of 2012 to keep the question in your mind - let the ideas about who you want to be become clearer, and start 2013 from the highest point of life you've ever been at! ;)

If you live in any of the so-called first world countries, then you're used to seeing lots of CCTV cameras about. While they can be there to protect us against crime, they can also be seen as intrusive elements, creating a police state, a la 1984 manner that George Orwell described.

However we humans not only participate in crime; we also participate in doing random acts of kindness, and engaging in fun by ourselves and with others. And, CCTVs also record that :)

Here's a little video that will make you smile: a collection of beautiful moments performed by all sorts of people and recorded by CCTVs.

I hope you enjoy it - and next time you see a CCTV, smile! ;)

I believe that being grateful for something is one of the most powerful tools to feel better immediately. Here are the two thanking bits of the month:

Thankful for... pleasant little surprises! I have had this dress for many years now - a beautiful dress with a print of large dark fuchsia butterflies. The other day, as I was standing in the living room speaking with my husband, I found by chance that it actually has pockets! I felt so happy I had to interrupt our conversation to mention it - "It has pockets! I didn't know! How cool is that!" :)

Thankful for... a seat in the train. I take a train to and from work every day. I always find a seat in the mornings, given that at the time that I travel there aren't as many people. However, in the evenings all trains are packed full as people want to make it home as soon as possible. So I feel gratitude whenever I board a train at one of the early stations - and I find an empty seat! :)

What are you thankful for? Share your gratitude on this page and read what others are thankful for!

Care to send me your thoughts about this issue's topics? Email me and let me know!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to your friends, family and colleagues, or send them to the Dare To Play It Big sign up page. I thank you in advance.

Stay well,

Cristina

P.S. Feeling stressed and worried because of problems at work? Then check my handbook "From Conflict To Calm" - based on my own experience with conflict with my boss, my handbook gives you the keys to move from a powerless situation to one of peace.

P.S.S. Tired of procrastinating? Wish you got more out of your own life but you don't know how? In my handbook "Power Over Procrastination" you will find the exact plan, techniques and tools I use to get things done easily - leaving procrastination behind altogether!