Let it be resolved, I make no New Year’s resolutions. It’s a habit I relinquished long ago and without regret. In years past, if I made it to February with even one resolution intact, it so shocked me that I’d lose all go-juice for it. I’m not against them. You do you. I just can’t anymore.
And yet…how does one come to an opportunity to begin anew, even one that is arbitrarily assigned, and not at least consider the possibilities? Who among us doesn’t relish the idea of a clean slate?
So, while not resolution, I can say I am opting for an attitude adjustment for this coming year, trying out new lenses as a way of re-vising my own hopes and expectations.
I want to lean into more curiosity and away from judgment. I want to feel less anxiety and more trust in the long-term processes at work, and in the general arc of goodness that I still have to believe rises through humankind.
I want to enjoy my writing more and worry about it less. I want to count the riches of my blessings rather than angst about money.
I want to retrain my attention from macro to micro, retreating from the blare of social media and the constant noise of “information” and instead turn to appreciate the chitter of the chickadee in the bush outside my window and the way sunlight falls across and warms my hand as I type, to the way a coming snow perfumes the air and to the delicious, drowsy sensation of waking from an afternoon nap.
I want to open up to the ebb and flow of living without trying so hard to manage the current. I want to try to…let things be.
More realignment than resolution. More blessing the here and now, less anxious peering into an imagined future. More room for compassion and generosity, less for anger and fear. More willingness to see and to feel, less guarding my heart. More energy for action, less fatigue-induced apathy. More love. Always more love.
My wish for you and yours as we begin another spin around the sun is that peace and well-being and good health would be visited upon your households and decide to take up residence. And I do hope you know, I’m so very grateful you all are here.
Welcome, 2025! Onward!
More curiosity less judgement. Especially avoiding contempt before investigation. More investigation. And we are back to curiosity.
"I want to open up to the ebb and flow of living without trying so hard to manage the current." Really love this. Happy New Year, Rebecca!