Well-intentioned resolutions: We all know them, remember them from earlier Januarys. Like neighbors you never really liked but who live nearby, unfulfilled resolutions keep showing up. Sometimes those noisy old resolutions even party together into the night, keeping you awake.
Usually, we want to look better, feel better, do better. We want to be better.
But beware "pie crust promises." Guess who said those words? Mary Poppins, the movie nanny who flies with her umbrella, guiding the young children under her care. Julie Andrews played Mary Poppins in the old movie with Dick Van Dyke, where they created a world of belief and magic. The family she comes to help is dysfunctional in Part 1, with the father figure working too much and ignoring his family, especially the children. In Part 2, Mary imparts wisdom along with playful imagination, and in Part 3, healing occurs and the dad comes around to value his children. Then Mary Poppins flies off.
So how are New Year's resolutions like pie crust promises? As Mary said, they are, “Easily made. Easily broken.”
It's true that we only get to be humans on the planet when we have a body with which to do that. Going back to the idea of resolutions, then, "being better" for me this year is about just gently (so as not to break it) agreeing with my Self that I'm going to love this body better. I'm going to listen more to what it needs and wants and less to what my mind says “I” need and want.
So, I know that my body loves:
- sleeping for 8 or 8 1/2 hours almost every night. I can do that.
- sinking into warm water and drinking lots of clean water. I can do that.
- getting low-impact aerobic exercise almost every day. I can do that
- sipping the green juice from Trader Joe's that I thin out a little with sparkling water. I can do that.
- releasing stress and embracing creativity through meditation. I can do that.
And my mouth loves good pie, of course! And sometimes my mind likes a glass of cool, dry champagne. I can do those, too. That’s all part of being human.
This year, I'm being careful about promises to myself. I'm only making ones that are positive and loving, ones that are easy to keep and less likely to be broken. Then I know I will look, feel, do better.
Join me? Let's be better, together!
I'll be your pal,
Rebecca
