Egg salad, heavily filtered in still life. 2012.
Ah, twenty-twelve… here you are and here I am, moving forward here on Planet Earth full of all kinds of optimism and gusto!
It is a time of year where many people decide to make big changes. And it is also the time of year, roughly the second week, when all hell breaks loose and the hope for change seems to evaporate into the surrounding ether.
This year felt different for me, because I wasn't making any resolutions. I was simply continuing. Continuing feels so much more do-able in some respects. I will continue to take care of myself. I will continue to eat well. I will continue to find ways of moving this body of mine. I will continue to become a more evolved person and less of a selfish twit.
So much easier than starting from scratch.
Of course, starting from scratch is what many people want to do in January. God knows I know this. I can't even tell you how many Januarys came and went where my goal of quitting smoking lasted until I woke up after the previous night's New Year celebration.
I read through some of the comments from the weekend's giveaway post, where I asked about resolutions. I don't really like resolutions myself. They seem too big. Too shocking. Too sudden.
I remember when I quit smoking in March of 2006. That felt too big. Too shocking. Too sudden.
And then hour by hour, day by day, it got a little easier.
Have you picked a word for the year? I ask, because I'm not sure what mine is just yet. I'm gravitating towards "reality" but I'm not sure how that will settle in just yet.
One of my goals in 2012 is to focus on living in reality in all aspects of my life. To see what is truly needed and to respond accordingly. Now this is coming directly out of the work I've been doing with my therapist, but it's what I need to do to focus on becoming a much better version of myself.
That, of course, involves a heck of a lot more than exercising and eating well. But every little bit helps.
I know there might be some of you who feel like January's here and you haven't stepped up to the plate. You haven't committed to a change you desire and you know what? I would say, don't sweat it. Don't look at January as the sole harbinger of possible change.
Change is a really forgiving and flexible concept at the outset. It's there. And it's waiting patiently.
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