New beginnings and new years can be plagued with resolutions seen through rose-colored glasses. This pretty much sets us all up for disappointment and failure – because rather than experiencing the moment and moving through the process of the journey, we only have the end goal in mind.
I recently read a great article by Martha Randolph Carr, a columnist for Cagle Cartoons. The gist was that resolutions are really just a list of what we don’t like about ourselves and that they ultimately set us up for success or failure, which is a “real downer…and an unproductive waste of time.” Instead, she chooses a word for the year, a theme if you will, and incorporates the idea of it into her life and can assess or review events throughout the year in relation to the word.
Easy to feel successful with no expectations and no end goal constantly haunting you? Sign me up! At dinner with lots of extended family one night I introduced the idea.
“Don’t think too long about it,” I suggested as I saw furrowed brows glancing about. “What is the first word that comes to mind?”
My word is PRESENT. Present in the moment. Releasing the worry and focus from or on the past or the future. Just truly trying to enjoy the moment that I am currently in. Feeling it, leaning into it, experiencing it wholly – body, mind and spirit. PRESENT for me also means gift – finding the gift in a situation, which I can tell you can be a challenge at times, but one that has already paid off six days later.
My son chose FORWARD. “Look at how what you are doing now is going to affect things later on,” he explained. My dad chose OPEN. “Less restricted. Open spaces.”
My mom chose SANE. Keith chose PEACE. “Of mind, heart and financial.”
Ricki chose COMFORT. John chose HEALTHY. Amy chose NOURISH. A few could not make a choice (wordless? Hmmmm). But soon the conversations started.
“So, Big Guy,” Kendall said to my dad, “you would then be OPEN to contributing to a car fund for me?”
“Only if looking FORWARD you see that is not going to happen,” he replied. “But please FORWARD the bacon.”
“I would be OPEN to that,” Kendall retorted.
And on and on it went. And I can honestly say that that morning I was completely PRESENT and felt as though I had been given a PRESENT in being able to be so. And I have enjoyed an impromptu afternoon couch conversation, a lovely evening walk, and even a car ride with the kids so much more, just by seeing how perfect the PRESENT is. And that ultimately, the PRESENT is all we have.
What’s your theme word for 2010?