Friday February 19, 2010
Resolutions 2010 Part 4
More than six weeks in, 2010 is turning out to be a fantastic year and I am so excited about what's to come. Friends, food, travel, good health and greater financial and domestic security are all on the agenda. Other new things this year:
- Giving up behaving compulsively. My meditation practice has changed my thinking to the point where I'm able to think about almost every decision I make before I make it, to think through the pros and cons before I make mistakes or hurt myself; even something as simple as eating too much candy. I will also, when necessary, try the advice of my friends *especially* if I first vehemently disagree with it
- Practicing every morning no matter what. The Five Steps that I've been given have been fantastic and since the beginning of the year, I've followed the mediation with a ten or fifteen minute exercise regimen. Not much, I know, but I'm already in pretty good shape (though getting a bit better isn't bad) and it's mostly the endorphins I'm looking for. Other health oriented things I've started are using a neti pot every day, only drinking and cooking with filtered water, and keeping to a regular housecleaning schedule
- A. deciding that I am going to stay in my apartment until I buy one (because I *want* to, not because I feel like I have to, which I felt for a long, long time) and B. not buying one until I am able to buy the one that I want. To that end, I have always had a hard time settling in to places because they were always so temporary and insecure but this year, I will hang artwork, take things out of boxes and put them where they're supposed to go, and soften the place as and where can.
- Being friendlier, speaking to people I don't know, in public and sticking my hand out and introducing myself. Though I'm not crazy about people approaching me in public because they so often just want something from me, I'm trying to change my attitude a bit and to treat others as I want to be treated. Nice people behind counters, on the street and on the phone make my day and I am trying to return the favor. I'm finding that I'm attracting bees with honey where I wasn't with vinegar. Just a few simple changes in behavior are making me a far happier and more patient person and I am putting others at ease and making new friends by simply putting out my hand and introducing myself, which has never been easy for me (despite what you might think) and it gets easier and easier as time goes on.
- Giving up trying to do more than one thing at once and simplifying. Multitasking of the kind I was doing a year ago as well as trying to do too much in too little time ran me into the ground physically and psychically and even when I finally calmed down, there was still trouble and fallout. I started the year far more quietly, created a vacuum, and it's slowly and easily begun to fill. There's actually been a desire on my part to keep things simple, quiet and private which I have never had before and it's working tremendously well so far.
Today is a pretty good day, the end of a pretty good week, in the middle of what's been a pretty good month. I may feel less positively about life and its content at times, but I'm bookmarking this post and will revisit it on a regular basis to remember that a little change doesn't take long but goes a long, long way.