RESOLUTION!
This is the time once again to think about resolutions, ways to improve our lives, to make things better for ourselves and those around us. It's a time to make new beginnings, to sweep out the dust of past mistakes and failures, to look forward not back. Our resolutions are often repetitious, the same resolutions as last year and the year before, a litany of things undone, a memorial to errors of the past, failures of long ago. Last year I made ten resolutions and had mixed results. Even though ten resolutions has been my usual number, I think it's too many, that perhaps the reason I fail to keep all of my resolutions is that there are too many. This year I've decided to make one resolution, one goal, one bit of guidance for the coming year. I'm giving this one bit of advice to myself in the hope that at the end of this year I can look back and say I really did it this year, I followed my advice, I kept my resolution.
In thinking about this one resolution, I've thought about other resolutions I've made, some of which I kept and others I didn't. I've thought about life and the way I'd like to live. I've thought about others and I how I can help them and I've thought about the help I'd like to receive. I've thought about traits I value and those I find unpleasant or unproductive. I've thought about complexity and simplicity, about how simple is usually best in all things. I've thought about the likelihood of success and failure and whether the advice I'm giving myself is advice I could also happily give others.
This may sound a little too simple but my resolution (singular) for 2002 is to be nice. I intend to be nice to others and nice to myself. To the same degree I try to find little gifts for others I'm going to try to find little gifts for myself. To the extent I try to be kind to others, helpful to those who need help, educational to those who want to learn, I'm going to try to be kind, helpful and educational to myself. To the extent I forgive others, encourage others, work for others, I'm going to give myself the same benefits. It sounds simple but it's hard when you have high standards and tend to judge yourself harshly.
I'm hoping that the wish is father to the deed in this case. That is, if I want to be nice I'll be nice. I'll once again keep you posted on how I do. If any of you feel like it, I'd be curious to know your new year's resolutions and how you do. Just click on the e-mail button.
1-7-02
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