New Year's Resolutions?

Images from the Tarot of Delphi. Find it HERE. 

The beginning of a new year holds so much magic. Who isn't excited by the idea of a fresh start, of the promise of a happier life, and of leaving the troubles of the past year behind?

As we all know, so many resolutions begin with being critical of ourselves. What did we do wrong last year? What is the matter with us? What needs fixing? 

I don't know about you, but for me this annual end of the year judgment-fest left me feeling determined and full of grand plans. And, I'm sorry to say, they usually petered out in a matter of weeks. Because they weren't fun. They weren't the true desires of my soul. They just highlighted how bad I felt about myself. 

Changing the way we say things can sometimes shift the energy, so many people change resolutions to intentions or goals. These feel kinder and less judgy. But they still don't feel right to me. Maybe it's because the older I get, the less enchanted I am with outcomes. The journey is so much more interesting. The destination may be, but in the meantime, I want to smell the roses along the way. 

Sometime ago I read something about becoming a person that you like and the idea stuck with me. 

I thought about people I like and what I like about them. You know what was never on the list of what I like about them? Their weight. How much money they made. How often they exercised, if at all. How big their To Do List was and how much they were able to cross off of it. Sometimes I liked their clothes or hair or boots...but that's not why I liked them. 

You know what was on the list? Their imagination and creativity. Their kindness and wisdom. Their generosity and willingness to help. Their silence. Their laughter. 

This year, instead of trying to fix myself like some Frankensteinian repair person, I'm going to craft myself into a person I like, like an artist carefully bringing forward the most beautiful aspects of their work. And I won't have any preconceived ideas of who that person is. I'll let her emerge, the way Michelangelo released the angel from marble, carefully and with love and wonder. 

That sounds like so much more fun than going on a diet.