Happy New Year

Here we are. Remember the resolutions you made for the New Year? They are easy to make. And, for the most part, we are serious when we make them. I made one. Remember? I was going to control my life, rather than letting my life control me. So I made it in a weak moment. I felt I was out of control. I needed some relief. I was having a negative influence on others. I was, generally speaking, not in control. There were actually a few other resolutions I made that now, it being January 1 and all, don’t seem quite as appealing or important as they did a few weeks or months ago.

Perhaps our expectations are too high. We expect some sort of new beginnings. We feel we have an opportunity to start afresh. Out with the old, in with the new. But guess what. You wake up on January 1 and it’s the same old face looking back at you from the mirror. Really, the only difference there is from yesterday or, in this case, last year is that we are a day older. So how can we make changes? How do we start afresh? How do we find some sort of rejuvenation?

I now realize that I should have prepared myself for this new beginning. New Year resolutions are easy to make but just as easy to break. Whether I need to make changes to my physical health, mental health or spiritual health I need a plan. And I need to ensure that I stick to that plan or I will slip back into that old me. If I slip, I will feel like a failure and then I will become discouraged and then I will feel its hopeless and then I will revert back to old habits that are so “last year”.

I need to remind myself of the importance of living one day at a time. If I start fretting about tomorrow or next week or next month I will become discouraged. What is important is to live in the moment. Enjoy today. And if I can carry through with my resolutions for one day I have accomplished a lot. Perhaps enough to encourage me to try again tomorrow. And without complicating life to much I want to be more mindful. Take note of life around me. Improve on relationships. Make life a little better for myself but also for others. Happy New Year to all of you. Make it a good one.