mmiscellanea arts

I’ve never been particularly taken with the idea of new year’s resolutions, though I’m sure I made them at some point in my life. Committing to improving myself is something I do year round, and I regularly revise my ideal version of myself—so doing something specific to January 1st doesn’t really appeal to me.

When I read Christine Kane’s blog post about forgoing resolutions in favor of a word/theme for your new year, however, something about the idea felt very right to me.

Several years ago, my friend Kathy and I decided that, instead of making resolutions, we would pick a word that would guide us throughout the year. It would be our touchstone. It would remind us of living our lives at the BE level.
(Learn more about this idea and read the hundreds of examples in the comments on Christine’s blog.)

Looking back on previous years, I realized there were these themes carrying through, even without me naming them. In 2006, I repeatedly said I was trying to move through the world with a word I had used infrequently in my life to date—grace. Last year, I rediscovered the place for joy in my life. Throughout the year, I could feel those words on a physical level, as real as a penny in my pocket or the ripples in a pond.

I thought deeply about what I wanted more of in my life, in what manner I wanted to approach and greet the world, how I wished to interact with others, and what would get the most out of my year.

I decided I want to bring more passion into how I approach life and its opportunities and I want to be more consciously compassionate toward others. Both of these words very strongly agree with the woman I want to be, who I hope to be closer to over the next twelve months.

• What do the words passion and compassion signify to you? What can you do to bring more of these qualities into your life?
• Do you have a resolution/word of the year/other new year’s tradition? I’d love to hear about it.