I don’t do New Year’s resolutions.
In recent years I’ve explored their very opposite by spending January naming what was already good and sound from the year before, a ritual I called the 31 Days of Self-Congratulations.
Corsica, September 2008
That exercise didn’t call to me this time, maybe because it’s a very time-consuming one. Could also be that the year felt like it wound to a close mid-November when our trip to Italy was over. And the disparities between regular life after enjoying the irregularities of the traveling life were wide and sharp, and it took me a while to recognize that this was strong stuff that would stand between me and my optimistic New Year rituals of the past. Not to mention the lure of new ones, like the “Best Of” lists that were bell-ringers (unintentional punning) for many bloggers in 2009.
Happily, fortuitously, mercifully, relievedl-y this morning I awoke to the bright penny shine of 2010 before me with my regular life batteries recharged enough that I was thirsty to write again.
Perhaps that’s what a low-key New Year’s Eve spent in the company of your Partner-in-Life, darling dog, roaring fire, a good dinner (lamb shoulder, parsnips and carrots, and mashed spuds with gravy made from the lamb drippings) the last of the excellent box wine from Chateau Peyriac de Mer (it’s the same excellent stuff they bottle, only in a box – trust me), and fireworks we could watch from the roof of our house can accomplish.
I also awoke thinking that a new New Year ritual regarding Determinations (not the R-word nor the I-word) would be better than none. It’s funny how sometimes with our first blink we have the answers we’ve been gnashing our teeth over for eons. On the other hand, last night it was very windy. Window-door rattling windy. Part of me fancies that overnight the wind swept through me, too, clearing a path to what was so apparent today. And why not?
- Utilizing self-discipline some more, at least as Judith Sills defines it: “acting according to what you think instead of how you feel at the moment. That’s the only way any of us gets ourselves to do the hard stuff.”
- Remember who I am. One of the sore spots of 2009 was acknowledging the degree that I’d muzzled parts of myself to meet certain expectations coming from outside myself. One example: for the sake of giving compassion a larger role, I didn’t speak with the conviction or honesty I felt. There are times when a soft squeak can’t possibly do the job of a lion’s roar.
- Thank friends who I’ve leaned on in 2009, and remind them that I’m here for them, too.
- Enjoy the higher ground…sometimes.
- Take more walks.
- Own what I create with pragmatism and fairness – the good, the bad, the so-so…the beautiful, the ugly, the simply plain.
- Remember that flexibility creates opportunities.
- To that end let myself imagine big, because holding a bigger vision for my life is not a recipe for disappointment but a recipe for innovation.
- Since icing is sometimes crucial to a cake, believe big in those imagineerings.
- And since even sprinkles atop icing can be non-negotiable, believe I can stand on my own two feet.
- For the next year, write with a sense of purpose. Even if the purpose is silliness.
- Face my demons, Temper Temper and Between-Meal Snacks. Fairly self-explanatory.
- Engage with the eternal question regarding Happiness…
- …with inquisitiveness. Rather than panic or the feeling that the clock is running out.
Best wishes everyone. Here’s to luck and opportunity for us all.
