One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this:
To rise above the little things.
-John Burroughs
We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.
Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.
-Ellen Goodman
We spent a fair amount of our New Year’s Eve playing with light.
It is not as easy as one might think; at least, when dealing with the restrictions and constraints of a point and shoot.
But, as Rilke says, “that something is difficult must be a reason the more for us to do it,” and there is no denying the thrill of satisfaction when one has completed a task they are of a mind to do. No matter how marginal or silly said task may be.
Jeff wanted to be sure that I remembered to let everyone know that, without his mad ninja-quick flashlight skills, today’s picture would not be here.
So, his signature:
What did you do with your New Year’s Eve? How are you feeling today?
I’ll be posting my goals and resolutions for 2009 later on in the day!
“Flick’s spine stiffened; his lips curled in a defiant sneer. There was no going back now.”
New Year’s resolutions get a bad rap.
In the comments to my last post, Stephanie mentioned that she never made New Year’s resolutions before, and Danielle decided that she’s making a to-do list instead, since resolutions “have a nasty habit of being broken”.
Up until a few days ago, I was right there too. Stupid resolutions, I thought. Just going to break them anyway. Why bother?
I think the problem is, I’ve always believed that resolutions were things we decided on, to fix the ways in which we are broken.
“I will quit smoking.” “I will start exercising and lose 20 pounds.” “I will get organized.” “I will get out of debt.”
Right?
The interesting thing, is that these sorts of resolutions are born out of excess.
I eat too much. I smoke too much. I buy too much, I owe too much, and I can’t deal with it all.
Right?
Now, from Danielle and Stephanie and from others all over the blogosphere, I’m also reading statements like this:
This year I will set some goals for myself. This year I’m excited about the resolutions I’ve set. I can’t wait to begin.
Why the change?
I think to some extent the excess has been curbed. We became aware, as a society, of the too-muchness of the American lifestyle, as it all began to come crashing down on us. The excess is being cut away for us, whether we like it or not.
But before we could clutch our 401(k) statements and shrinking savings and curl up in the fetal position in despair, we were inspired by the election of a man who ran on a platform of change. Of hope.
Over and over we heard the words. Yes we can.
To resolve:
To make a firm decision about.
To cause (a person) to reach a decision.
To decide or express by formal vote.
To change or convert.
To find a solution to; solve.
To remove or dispel doubt.
To bring to an unusually successful conclusion.
To cause progression from dissonance to consonance.
If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.
-Thomas Edison
The Monday between Christmas and New Year’s- seems a natural time to sit back and reflect on how this past year has gone.
I didn’t actually make any New Year’s Resolutions in 2008, being the sort of contrary person who refuses to do things like that; i.e. a general pain in the butt who doesn’t like to be caught out breaking resolutions.
How did I do? Well, I do wake up earlier in the morning. I am less negative and hyper-critical; I find time to play with my daughter every day, no matter how ridiculous or mind-numbing the game of choice may be. I also write every day, and find daily ways to be happy.
I am still not very good at “clean-as-you-go”, or at remembering that sarcasm is not the same as humor.
But I found many ways to tread more lightly on the earth.
As a family in 2008, we totally did away with paper towels, paper napkins, and tissues, opting instead for fabric replacements. We still use paper TP, but it is Marcal, with recycled content.
We switched over to baking soda, vinegar, borax, and club soda for our household cleaning.
We began to purchase local and organic produce, and eco-friendly detergents.
We buy 100% recycled content paper for the printer.
We bought pretty much nothing new that we didn’t absolutely need.
We harvested the compost from our worm farm and used it in our organic vegetable garden.
We took part in the One Can a Month challenge and dramatically reduced the amount of trash we send to the landfill.
A lot of these actions saved us money, and we were able to make donations to charities without real hardship.
I wrote letters, signed petitions, and did what I could to raise awareness.
Most importantly, I think, we came out of the green closet.
We stopped apologizing for our treehugger ways. We stopped thinking of them as strange, or deviant; and we stopped caring if others saw us that way.
To our family, living mindfully and responsibly is now normal; it is a mindset that influences and informs our day-to-day choices, and we are proud of it.
I am no longer embarrassed by my clothes hanging on the line, or by how we decorate our house with things we make ourselves from recycled materials. I’m delighted to discuss green cleaning or native plants or the best sources of local meat with a casual acquaintance. I reveal my dozen or more reusable bags at the grocery store with a dramatic flourish. I am conspicuous. And I don’t mind.
Attitudes about green living are changing. Can you feel it?
Living lightly is no longer considered a lifestyle choice of the elite, or the dirty hippie, or the flaky granola girl, but rather one that is recognized as practical, frugal, and forward-thinking.
I think part of that change is attributable to the economy, of course; the realization that the American lifestyle as we knew it was unsustainable. Also coming into play: the emphasis that the incoming Obama team has put on climate change and renewable energy and other ecological and green collar matters; and the skyrocketing of gasoline prices that occurred earlier this year.
But I also like to think that part of it was the willingness of average people, in all shades of green, who were willing to wear their values on their sleeve.
To take responsibility, speak out, and lead by example.
Who made green less of a “lifestyle choice” and more of a “way of life”.
I have the greatest of hopes for 2009. I have new green resolutions to make.
Overall, I still want to live by the mantra of “Do all the good you can, every day that you can, in every little way that you can.”
But this year, no wishy-washy goal setting! I am working on real goals, specifics, nitty-gritties. I’ll post them here, in bold, and on other public forums. I’ll check in on them periodically and I’m counting on you to hold me accountable.
I’m excited! Are you excited for the new year to begin? How did you do with your 2008 resolutions (if you made any?)
, and I was inspired to make some sort of goals for myself. But I was pretty wishy-washy about it; I posted them on a blog that no one read and only went back to them for the first time ever, today.