A new day, a new year: I have so many resolutions to make – and probably plenty to break – it’s ridiculous. There’s no use in going into them, although I may try to do something I used to do: write out my top 3-5 changes I want to see, break those down into 12 components, and at the end of every month check the list to see if I’ve accomplished any of them. For example: if my resolution were “publish more” then I’d have a dozen smaller things on the list, like “get a short story published” or the like. As long as you make the lists when you’re in a mood that’s more pragmatic than euphoric, it works pretty well. You take the one you accomplished off the list & then paste the new, shorter list into the 1st day of the following month, & so on & so on. It’s good for more numerical goals, like weight loss or debt re-payment, too.
I for one would like to go on a month-long retreat somewhere, to rest and write and find some peace; my biggest challenge is often accepting what is instead of thinking about what was or what might be. Focusing on the what might be part of the equation is useful in terms of activism– but it can also cause you to overlook the good of the here & now.
Good riddance, 2010: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I have never had a year go so miserably and inexorably flat midway through before, and I’m hoping 2011, even if it isn’t brilliant, will be a little less uneven.
A very happy 2011 to you, my lovely readers, whomever you are: the emails and cards and comments you write me do more to keep me going than you might imagine.