NEW YEAR - NEW OPPORTUNITIES


2018 is now up and running! May it be your best yet!

A couple of years ago I posted a list of Good Intentions for the new year:

1. Practice kindness and forgiveness as often as possible.
2. Read three new authors.
3. Reduce the clutter and get rid of excess possessions.

Not sure I managed all three in 2016 (which was the year I was aiming for). But in 2017, I know I made some headway.

#1, practice kindness and forgiveness as often as possible--This one is almost impossible not to do. "As often as possible" is likely to be every single day, and if you want to drill down a little more, every hour/minute. Kindness includes attitude--toward other drivers, toward shoppers in a crowded mega-store, toward new neighbors . . . .

Forgiveness is another moment-by-moment action. Our neighborhood has changed drastically in a little over 15 months--of the 6 houses that are now occupied by strangers, I know the names of the ones who live in three of the houses. Everyone is younger than I am, most work (one woman works two full-time jobs, though my mind boggles at that possibility), and the ones with young children are as busy as I always was when I was at their age and stage of life.

Each new family brings personal habits, family dynamics complete with noise, and more vehicles than this street was designed for. Opportunities for kindness and forgiveness meet me at every turn.

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#2, read three new authors. I did that one! My new authors are:

Barbara Brown Taylor - memoir
Jason Fagone - history
Mary Oliver - poetry and essays
Michael B. Curry - theology
Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer - fiction

(I didn't set out to exceed three, but it happened anyway.)

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#3, reduce clutter and get rid of excess possessions. Here's another ongoing project. I have help whenever my Minnesota daughter comes to visit--she loves to organize, doesn't mind sorting/discarding (though I realize it's my stuff she's sorting and discarding), and then cleans the shelf or cupboard or storage area for me when we're ready to put away the things I'm keeping. Yes, I've made progress, and the give-away pile grows steadily. 

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This year's list will be much the same. Whatever I choose to emphasize will, without a doubt, be an ongoing endeavor. Loving others, for instance - especially when the "others" seem unlovable. This might involve keeping my opinion to myself at times--some of my opinions aren't meant to be expressed aloud. Giving more of myself to help people in need. Praying for people and places and situations that seem far away and unimaginable. And still forgiving what needs to be forgiven, being kind when I'd rather not.

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Good intentions . . . necessary for forward movement. I'm hoping mine give me the little push I need to roll on. Yours, too.