Here's Looking at You Kiddo

My friend Amy had her baby! A few weeks ago I shared my wishes for her & all new moms in a Wishing Well for Amy.

Now that her preciously little one is here, I thought I'd follow up with these wishes I wrote for the baby. As it happens, they are the same ones I have for my kids & for all children. Everywhere.

I hope you love... deeply, with an open heart and an open mind. Remember to love yourself the same way. 

I hope you learn... to do your own laundry by the time you're eleven. And I mean properly, not just how to work the machines (but ruin the clothes). Seriously, it's a pretty crucial thing in life and your parents will be grateful. 

I hope you get... to explore and have adventures. Whether they take you across the world, the country, or just your own backyard. Nothing better than a proper adventure, and they come along pretty often if you keep your eyes open. 

I hope you become... the very best person you can be. Whatever & whomever that is. I hope you are the most amazing version of You that you can imagine. 

I hope you ignore... any naysayers, bullies, or anyone who ever tries to hold you down, squash your dreams or otherwise break your heart. 

I hope you aren't afraid... to fail, to ask for help, or be vulnerable. Those who do the impossible rarely achieve it the first time and they do not ever do it alone. 

I hope you grow... to appreciate those things you don't like, be they foods, music, movies, or other people and their opinions. It is so important to try new things & be open to all viewpoints. And then if you disagree, do so respectfully. Such common courtesy is often overlooked these days. A little kindness will always get you far. 

I hope you laugh... often and with a full heart. Laugh until the tears stream down your face, and laugh even when you've already been crying. 

I hope you remember... you are extraordinary. No matter what you do or who you become. You are loved. By so many - both near and far far away.

Resolve or Evolve, THAT is the Question

Time really does accelerate the older you get, doesn't it? Because, seriously, 2014?!!? I'd swear it was just 2004 last year. 

For our family 2013 was a year of significant change. Although, to be honest the last 5 years has been full of changes for me. Whether they be new relationships, babies, offices, homes, jobs, classes, teeth, foods, toys, newly walking, newly diaper free... Now, as a mommy with two toddlers almost every day brings something new to one of us. Granted, not all that is new is monumental, but "NEW" is familiar territory. 

To start this year off, we've just gotten a shiny new iMac. So for the first time in about 2 years I'm sitting at a computer and typing. Strange & oddly satisfying. It has me excited about all the things I can do. 

Like everyone, I've been thinking about what else this New Year might bring. Not starting the year pregnant or nursing makes me feel like I should have a bit more flexibility in 2014. So, what do I want to DO this year?  

I have a laundry list of things in mind, of course. Just off the top of my head: 

• Read more; read with the kids, read a novel, read more articles & interesting things that spark the old creative bug. 
• Spend more time being creative: writing, photography, more crafts with the kids. My art school days should be put to use at least a little, right? 
• Do more yoga, eat better, cook more and introduce more variety to our family menu. 
• Catch up on some brain candy - like classic Doctor Who episodes. Ok, other things too, like award winning movies, & I never finished last season's Luther, either. But chiefly I'd like to go back and catch up on some old Who. (Not as lofty as some other goals, but honest.)

But seriously, none of that is particularly monumental. Or that needed Jan 1st as a start date. Can I call them resolutions, really? 

Thankfully my friend The Internet is here to tell me a resolution is the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones; an act of determining. Alright... I get that making new year's resolutions is an act of determination, but I'm more interested in the first bit.  Breaking down a complex notion. Because I feel like that list up there is really more about the ways in which I'd like to see me & my family grow this year.  

Growth. Seems odd to call a "determination to grow" a "resolution". I mean, isn't growth what LIFE is all about? Growth over the course of our lives - that sounds more like evolution than resolution to me.

We usually think of evolution as a scientific thing, right? Species evolving over generations to adapt to their environment, etc. But getting the dictionary out again I find evolution is a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state: growth.  A process of gradual and relatively peaceful social, political, and economic advance.

Gradual & peaceful advancement. Continuous change from a lower to a higher state. That's more like it. In yoga we work to grow a little stronger, go a little further, deeper each day as we practice. Even if it is only the mind we can move in the direction we want to go. Each practice we aim to be determined in how we want to grow. In essence, we resolve to evolve. 

So, I say we forget about making old school resolutions, most of which we are destined to abandon and feel like crap about if we can't stick with it. Why create an opportunity for negative feelings? 

This year I'm bringing my yoga mindset out of the studio! My only resolution is to keep evolving, and to help my family & friends do the same. Growth over time, peaceful advancement. Each new day is the start of a new year, if you choose to see life from that perspective.

Namaste.