It's New Year's Day, and we've left 2012 behind us, many shaking the dust off our feet as we do so. Today we flip the pages of our calenders, feel the cool breeze of the morning on our feet as we sip our tea ... and hope with a shameful streak of vindictiveness that the neighbour's dog, who didn't enjoy the fireworks last night and remained traumatized for many hours afterwards, has sore vocal chords today.
New Year's Resolution? So far as I'm concerned, they're back in. I went through a phase when I didn't make them, preferring to try and effect lifestyle change over what can so easily become tokenistic short-lived goals; however: they're back, baby! I've been reading Duhigg on habits, Gardiner on changing beliefs, and have a fresh appreciation of the suitability of 1/1 as a launching date for new ventures.
No, I'm not going to air my resolutions in this public space: they're too personal, would reveal too much of what Carey might call my "soft pink underbelly" to indiscriminate scrutiny; but I will say that I've worked hard to prepare for them. I've set goals: one modest, one audacious. My thinking is in the right space. I've set benchmarks to check my progress along the way. I'll also say that I've honed the usual, sometimes lengthy, wishlist down to just two. (Well, two and a little project on the side, another blog, but that's another story.) I even started working towards one of these goals two days early, so I could end it exactly 36 weeks later on my birthday, 1 September.
2012 was not an easy year. No, I don't expect life to be easy, but - as my husband and I reflected over dinner last night - it would be nice if 2013 contained mere bumps along the road, as opposed to the veritable landmines which have disrupted our lives over the last four years. We understand that life will always contain a mix of pleasantness and unpleasantness, and I share the Buddha's teaching that the root of much of our suffering lies within us; however, it would be nice to have the opportunity to practice that teaching amidst less ghastliness than has been our lot recently.
This blog is called "My Favourite Things" but all I've done in this post is ramble on about the turning of the year. What are my favourite things today? The opportunity for a fresh start; the fact that I'm a middle class educated white Australian, making me one of the most fortunate people ever to have lived; and the knowledge that, each year, I know myself more fully.
For these things, I am grateful.
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