A sentiment shared by many I'm sure. It's challenging at home too since my husband lobbies in the financial services industry. I find myself frequently pelting him with questions just to get a better handle on what and why things are happening. Recently, I asked somewhat rhetorically, "When are the people who got us into this mess going to suffer the consequences of their actions?" Maybe it was an elementary question, which is probably why I got a deer-in-headlights look back from my husband. I know the answer is never, and that the blame could be spread amongst such a vast amount of people that there's simply no logical way to dole out justice, but it just doesn't seem right.
I was talking to a friend recently who said she had to believe that there is something greater for all of us to learn from this experience. I agree. I also think there is a terrific lesson to be learned in discerning our wants from our needs. But I think it also needs to be tempered with a plan-for-the-future-but-live-like-tomorrow's-your-last-day perspective. I'm not sure how you teach that kind of balance though.
2.15.2009
new year's resolutions
I've never been one to make a list of resolutions, mostly because I'm leery of trying to tie change to a time of year. There are two things that I've been wanting to work on though, this year, that I started thinking about well before the new year.
The first item was something I've wanted to do a long time - cut soda out of my diet. There's nothing good about soda - the sugar, or artificial sweetener, citric acid, chemicals, etc. I had a health instructor in college who said, "If you wouldn't take a shower in soda, why would you shower the inside of your body with it?" Sure, you could apply that to a number of things, but that mental image has stuck with me for the last 13 years. Obviously, this has been a long time coming.
So far, I've done okay. Three times, I've succumbed to the craving - usually after watching someone consume it in my house. Once, I had one at a party - it was the only thing available. Six weeks into the new year, I'm doing pretty well.
My other resolution was to reach out to people more. I have a lot of acquaintances and new-ish friends that I really want, and need, to get to know. For those who don't know me, this is really hard. Once upon a time, I would easily come up with excuses not to do something. I started to break out of my shell when I was asked to be on a steering committee at church. The commitment thing, and the God/calling thing, kept me going as hard as it was. From there, things picked up. I met my husband, a very social person, and started beating back my fears and insecurities. I became more involved with my professional association. I forced myself to go to networking receptions, as scary and painful as they initially seemed.
So here I am today. Many of my closest friends live far away. I'd like, and I need, to build some relationships closer to home. Since New Year's Eve, I've managed to schedule and follow through on three meetups with friends/acquaintances. And the great part about it is not only how much better I feel after actually doing it, but also the good feelings that emanate simply from having connected with others. It's incredibly fulfilling and a real accomplishment for me. I'm setting a goal to do this at least once a month.
The first item was something I've wanted to do a long time - cut soda out of my diet. There's nothing good about soda - the sugar, or artificial sweetener, citric acid, chemicals, etc. I had a health instructor in college who said, "If you wouldn't take a shower in soda, why would you shower the inside of your body with it?" Sure, you could apply that to a number of things, but that mental image has stuck with me for the last 13 years. Obviously, this has been a long time coming.
So far, I've done okay. Three times, I've succumbed to the craving - usually after watching someone consume it in my house. Once, I had one at a party - it was the only thing available. Six weeks into the new year, I'm doing pretty well.
My other resolution was to reach out to people more. I have a lot of acquaintances and new-ish friends that I really want, and need, to get to know. For those who don't know me, this is really hard. Once upon a time, I would easily come up with excuses not to do something. I started to break out of my shell when I was asked to be on a steering committee at church. The commitment thing, and the God/calling thing, kept me going as hard as it was. From there, things picked up. I met my husband, a very social person, and started beating back my fears and insecurities. I became more involved with my professional association. I forced myself to go to networking receptions, as scary and painful as they initially seemed.
So here I am today. Many of my closest friends live far away. I'd like, and I need, to build some relationships closer to home. Since New Year's Eve, I've managed to schedule and follow through on three meetups with friends/acquaintances. And the great part about it is not only how much better I feel after actually doing it, but also the good feelings that emanate simply from having connected with others. It's incredibly fulfilling and a real accomplishment for me. I'm setting a goal to do this at least once a month.
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