I have written New Year’s Resolutions since junior high; usually big lofty goals that always included losing weight (yes even in junior high, so sad). Over the past couple of New Years I have tried different techniques and types of resolutions in hope of figuring out how to stick to them! Last year I decided against “resolutions” and instead created a list of 12 projects (one for each month) that I could actually attain. It was very gratifying to check off each accomplishment:
Have a Baby- check!
(I was nearly nine months pregnant when I wrote my resolution)
Pay Off Truck- check!
Get Backyard Chickens- check!
Develop and Stick to an enjoyable movement routine – check!
(I went with PACE and am loving it)
Potty Train 2 year old- CHECK!!!!
Etcetera…
I completed 11 of my 12 projects (my son’s baby book is nearly done, but not quite ready to be checked off) and enjoyed my project resolutions so much that I rather assumed I would do the same thing again for 2012. Isn’t it funny how God seems to have other plans? I started processing my year a few months back (an appropriate time as a dear friend pointed out, with Fall being a time to focus on what you have harvested, and looking at what you hope for the coming seasons) I realized that my work for 2012 would not be quite as easy as checking off a list (drat!).
Around this time of self reflection I was searching for a very important document and came across a church youth group article I had written in high school. It was fun to read what a 17 year old me had written, the challenges I was facing spiritually as my father was deployed to Bosnia, the changes at the school I was attending, my excitement regarding my youth group. But through all of that I was deeply struck by how much one thing hasn’t changed; then as now I am always busy! I have been on the “go” my entire life. I was always pleased that I made the time for prayer work and meditation in my busy life, but I have just been making time for it, something else on my busy schedule. I feel that this ongoing checklist and dates on calendars, marking time by the events I am involved with has left me fragmented. I am in separate pieces inside and out.
So my work for 2012 is not to simply check off a bunch of projects (although my husband and I came up with a list of those as well) but to shift my focus from busyness to awareness. Whoa! Way easier said than done! I thought I gave up on huge lofty all-or-nothing New Year’s Resolutions. Well with every journey there are steps and tools to help and I have to guide the me I am (the one with the busy schedule and lots of lists) to the me God is challenging me to be (the one who lives more in the present moment then in the accomplishment of tasks) using what I can use now; in this case a list (just not a very check-mark-able list).
2012 from Busy to Aware
- · Mindful and Enjoyable Eating (with the Yoga of Eating as my guide)
- · GAPS to allow for Balance and Healing (Cara’s eBook and Nourishing Roots Challenge)
- · 10 second pauses with God to unite my day (using technique in Ten Zen Seconds)
- · Personal Housekeeping: Healing & Self Love! (spacial movements, child letters, others?)
Two of my my four focus points are food related, not surprising since how I relate to food is often tied in to how I relate to myself and other. Good or bad, that is the truth of it! I am excited, apprehensive, and a little overwhemled, but I am trusting God that this is the right time to turn my focus and work on shifting my reality bit by bit.
This post is part of Nourishing New Year's Resolution Carnival, Monday Mania and Fat Tuesday