I’m sure the “blogosphere” is full of new year’s posts today; full of people extolling their grand plans for the year that sits in front of us as unspoilt as freshly fallen snow.
I could write one like that. But I won’t.
I know better, from past experience, than to make grand pronouncements of all the things I hope I’ll be able to accomplish this year: the pounds I’ll shed (again!), the great works of charity I’ll accomplish, the calm, unharried professional I’ll be in the office every day, or the perfect parent my children will witness. Those hopes will vanish more quickly than the last of the Christmas mince pies. Instead, this year, I’m going to focus on the little things.
In 2015, I plan to:
- Get outside more. This past year, I’ve been far more of a couch potato than I want to admit to. Yes, I get to yoga regularly, but the kids have done more dog walking than I have.
- Read more. While on that couch, I watched far more mindless television that I want to admit to. There was a time when I read voraciously. With a newly arrived comfortable sofa in my living room, I will tackle the stack of books that’s been growing, and was added to with wonderful gifts.
- Sleep more. Over the holidays, I stopped taking my iPad into the bedroom and noticed a huge difference in both my ability to get to sleep and the ease with which I wake the next morning.
- Smile more. My yoga practice is teaching me how to let go of stress better. So with that stress gone, a happier me should be present a little more often.
- Look forward more than I look back. One of my New Year’s Eve traditions is to put the year’s best photos into an album (what can I say – I’m a luddite!). I love reliving the best of the past 365 days. But as we turn the page on a the shiny new year, it’s time to turn the page and look the future and to new challenges.
And finally, in 2015 as in the past two years, I pledge to make many, many mistakes.
Mistakes?
I ran across this passage from author Neil Gaiman a couple of years ago. It made sense to me then, and continues to speak clearly to me.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.
So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
Happy New Year!
