New Year’s Wishes

This year, I’m not going to declare a resolution, so much as express wishes. I don’t mean to be non-committal or wishy-washy. I know the tried and true goal-setting methods require finite, measurable, sensible, deliverable, scheduled, milestone-delimited, documented strategies. My agenda for 2014 has a softer approach — a wish. I wish for myself and for everyone so many blessings in the new year, but they’re not really things you’d count or mark on a scorecard.

I wish for all of us in 2014…

…health, from enjoying healthy behavior

Get out. Move. Do the things your body was made to do until you get tired. Rest. And do it again. Eat nourishing foods and revel in the way they make you feel. Avoid an excess of things that drain you and undermine your success with no gain. Revel in how strong and healthy this makes you feel.

…abundance, in understanding the difference in wants and needs

May you have everything you ever needed and want for nothing else. May you have the wisdom and courage to take only what is necessary and reserve the rest or share it with others. Become resourceful in reducing waste and giving the old and used new life. Don’t lament the things you don’t have and wish you did, but celebrate the things you’ve got.

…success, in having accomplished what you set out to do.

I hope you find something worthwhile to do and do it — industriously, whole-heartedly, and with satisfaction. Find the courage to try things that might scare you — whether you fear you’re unworthy, failure, or simply the unknown. Whatever you do in 2014, be present. Really experience it and be proud of what you have accomplished because it is yours.

…wonder, at the commonplace and novel alike.

This one short little year in our brief lives is a gift. It’s an opportunity to have experiences made one-of-a-kind by our own unique vantage point. May you be grateful for the amazing capacity of people, infinite diversity in things, and your own ability to always learn something new.