Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Letting go of… New Year resolutions



I no longer make New Year resolutions. For the past several years, I have been uncertain of the next week. So making resolves for an entire year has seemed like pressure.

Pressure to keep up with a life I no longer had the energy for. Pressure to do things that seemed wonderful in theory, but so hard to practice. Pressure to be better, to be healthier, to lead a more meaningful life; pressure to exercise, to be more social, to be more organized… you get the drift. 

True. Life is about choices and being happy is a choice we make. And setting intentions is a wonderful step in that direction. It gives our life a certain sense of direction and makes us feel like the ones in charge – of our life, of our destiny, of our happiness. And that is a good feeling.

And what better time than on the eve of a new year to do so? It gives us time to reflect on an entire year gone by and chart the course ahead for the one ahead. It is a time of hope. 

The New Year is a fresh new page awaiting the ink of life to fill it with beautiful prose and poetry in beautiful calligraphy. These images of beautiful literature are like my resolutions. 

In reality however, my fresh new page is filled mostly with scribbles – often undecipherable. There are of course smatterings of beauty in the scribbles. But I have to look hard to find them. I have to remind myself that beauty does exist in the scrawl. For visions of ornate calligraphy block my appreciation of the beauty in my scribbles. 

If you are reading this right after making a list of resolutions, I truly hope I have not killed any optimism. For that would be the worst kind of crime. 

I simply want to let go of the pressure surrounding New Year resolutions. I want to let go of any lofty expectations that can lead to dissatisfaction. I want to let go of my calligraphic dreams…and love my simple scribbles better. 

Wishing you a happy scribbly new year!!

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