Resolutions

To be resolute means to uphold a belief and act with steadfast vigor.  There is a sense of finality to it.  Therefore to have a resolution means a commitment to upholding a belief or action with some real gusto and certainly no wavering.  

A New Year's resolution is an oxymoron.  By making a a New Year's resolution, people generally commit to really hoping that this year will be better than the last in certain areas. By virtue of calling it a New Year's resolution we soften the blow of the inevitable failure of one's steadfast vigor to say...avoid donuts.   If it's a resolution that belongs specifically to the New Year, it won't matter if you're not so resolute when the year is not so new, like next month.

Maybe I'm wrong and others take New Year's resolutions much more seriously than myself.  If mat space at the yoga studio in February are any indication, I dare say, I am pretty darn on point.

All of this is to say that I don't make resolutions for myself.  I set themes that I can play with and explore all year long.  Think about the words and the concepts they represent. 

The theme for 2013 is "Lighten Up." 

In all honesty, the theme was born out of the sentence, "Lighten the f#$@ up."  Something silly happened on Facebook and the response was a quite a bit heavier than I would have imagined.  So it started out with me thinking that everyone else, you know those people 'over there' but definitely NOT ME, ought to "Give me a break! Lighten the f*#^ up!!"  In my head, lines were drawn in the sand.  On one side stood those who get me/approve of me/appreciate me and on the other side stood those who couldn't possibly understand/are super self-righteous/soapbox dwellers.

As I thought about it, mulled it over, lived with feeling angry, a little hurt and generally annoyed, my perspective changed.  I don't control other people's thoughts or actions.  Sometimes, I don't even control what happens in my own world.  I can only control my reactions.  I steeped in all those gross thoughts and feelings for about 30 more seconds, took a nice long deep breath and thought to myself, "Lighten up, missy." 

So, the first was an organic exploration.  Lighten up, don't take yourself so seriously.  Lighten up, you believe you are good. Lighten up, forgive others their soapboxes. No one benefits from a heavy heart...lighten up.