I love how a new year offers a fresh slate to work with. There is, of course, the usual craze of new-and-never-to-be-used-again gym memberships, desperate efforts to quit smoking, spend more time with loved ones (to make up for lost time?), and anything else that most popularly appears on peoples’ lists of New Year’s resolutions. I gave up on setting those kinds of goals last year when I realized that I wrote the same list out every year. I found that guilt started to drive me to fulfill my resolutions, rather than genuine desire. Still, I have some goals for my year, but they are much more immediate.
She's Making a List - Checking it...Never?
After a year dedicated to finding my ‘true spiritual self’ I find myself focussing more on the Now, as I have mentioned many times in my writing. I now find myself focussing more on the ‘how’ rather than the ‘what.’ What steps do I need to take in order to ensure that I achieve the goals that seem to reappear each year, as they often should?
Some of the ‘whats’ of 2009 are:
- learn Spanish
- drink more water (again!)
- go to yoga twice a week
- to stop being so hard on myself
Ultimately, though, these resolutions can only be achieved if I have more balance in my life. Balance is always, always the answer to the question of ‘how’ I can fulfill these resolutions. All of a sudden my ‘whats’ are replaced by everyday, minute-by-minute, actions and decisions that must be in place if I am ever to hablar en espanol and feel properly hydrated while striking the ‘Deaf Man’s’ pose without thinking too much of how bad I am at it.
The survival of our New Year’s resolutions depends on how we dedicate ourselves in the time we have allotted to accomplishing our goals. It is a question of consciousness, and it plays itself out even with the smallest of goals. How many times, for instance, have I filled my water bottle and placed it next to me at my desk, only to discover it hours later, still full to the brim? Even the simple act of drinking water is compromised by my mind’s distraction.
So, I find myself, once again, back at the same theme. If I am to accomplish my New Year’s resolutions, I must see them as This Moment’s resolutions. I must commit myself to finding balance in my day, diverting my energy to one thing at a time, and focussing my attention in the here and now. Only then will my resolutions become reality, and I’ll be a better person for it.
© Meghan J. Ward, 2009.
