A Blank Slate

The Last Calvin and Hobbes Strip by cartoonist Bill Watterson created December 31, 1995

I am not a fan of New Years Resolutions. Never have been. It always felt like I was doing it because that’s what you are “suppose to” do. It felt like I was so judge-y with who I’d been up to that point in time (and lord knows I do that plenty without this huge spotlight coming in each year to tell me all the ways I was screwed up). Every year that I did set them, I would inevitably fail to follow through with the resolutions that I did set. Not to mention I set them with way to high of a bar to begin with. Add to that that I would then beat myself up even more for failing.

I haven’t set any resolutions now for many years, but I had this realization this year that when we set resolutions - the root of it is “I am not enough”. This and/or that have to change in order for my life to be good/perfect/right. “If only I (could stop Binge eating, lost 10 pounds, made more money, had more students, helped more people, could make him love me), then my life would be better, be perfect. I would be enough.

What if as we move into 2023 we started to practice believing we are enough? That we are perfectly imperfect just as we are. That we have enough “things”. How would that change the way we live into this new chapter?

What has been one of the most helpful tools in my life is to sit down and be mindful about what the top priorities in my life are. I wanted to move away from “accomplishments and acquisitions and start to cultivate joy and meaning” (that saying is from Brené Brown). As I sat down to think about what things I have when things are going really well in my life I boiled it down to these 5 things. They have changed throughout the years, but mostly have stayed that same. Some of them are: yoga and ayurveda practices, eating healthy food, time to cook, being active, time in nature, time with family/friends, work less/PLAY more, travel (even if a day drive somewhere outside of Walla). time alone.

So as I move forward into 2023 with this blank slate, I don’t wanna focus on the things I “should” do to be enough… for my life to be enough. I want to focus on how to keep the things I listed above front and center. Since making my list (and revisiting it occasionally), I find myself more aligned to the things I value and that in an of itself brings my life more value.

Here is a wish for Our 2023:

May we remind ourselves of what brings joy and meaning into our lives.

May we take the time to connect to those things/beings and prioritize this over accomplishments and acquisitions.

May we practice knowing that we belong everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

May we be willing to live in the uncertainty that this life is and have faith that all is as it must be.

May we see how blessed we are even when we are struggling.

Happy new year friends. May all beings everywhere be well.

CJoy