resolutions and other ill-kept promises... Happy New Year! I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season. Though ours was quite lovely, I do breathe a sigh of relief to pack the decorations away and begin anew with a clean slate. Though I've never been much of a resolution kinda gal, I do believe in looking forward to the future with hopes and goals. Some of these hopes stay just that, hopes. So rather than toss them aside, I'll rejoice in the steps I've made and aim to try to take it closer to the goal this year.
Looking at last year's resolutions, I did just okay at the whole utilizing my cookbook collection more. Frankly it's a time issue (or at least that's the excuse I'm using). On those rare lazy Sunday afternoons, there is nothing better than curling up with coffee in hand flipping though stacks of recipes in search of the next yummy meal. But more often than most, I hop over to Fine Cooking or one of my favorite food blogs to check out what's cooking and grab inspiration from that. But this desire makes it on my resolution list once more as I attempt once more to distance myself from technology a bit more whilst at home (failed at that miserably last year...absolutely miserably.) As the New York Times writes, I, like many, am simply in search of quiet.
I did do very good on my second resolution from last year...enjoying the everyday things a bit more. I now use my beloved Mauviel copper cookware on a daily basis (a far cry from the years it spent in a crate downstairs waiting for a "special occasion"). I now try to carry this philosophy through all the channels of my daily life. I regularly use objects I had once cherished and kept almost preserved for fear of ruining them. I realized that by not indulging in their beauty is an equal crime. Life is too short to reserve things for once in a blue moon celebrations.
I resolve to read more. A lot more. I don't watch a lot of tv, but I do spend way too much time online. I need to channel that time into reading. I used to devour books, staying up all night until they were done. Now all this former English major seems to do is hoard books, but not actually open them. I can't remember the last time I read a work of fiction. My goal is to read just one book a month, no monumental goal, but you have to start somewhere. First on deck is rereading a favorite of mine that was literally a life changer. I read Dharma Bums every day on the ferry as it shuttled me back forth from New York City to Weehawken. The city life was not for me, and Kerouac's words gave me the courage to move out West and seek my bliss (turns out bliss was not there, but the book's words still ring true).
I remember being 18, sitting in class learning about Joseph Campbell. His advice, "follow your bliss". Those words never left my mind. My bliss is right outside my door...literally, just a few feet. It's my garden and one day, it will be where I make my living. I make the resolve in 2012 to tend to my garden with the same dedication that I do to my work. That may mean getting up earlier in the morning, and going to bed a bit later, but really try to see what my harvest could be with a lot more attention units and care but in. Of course that all sounds good now as I type this in January. Check in with me come June ;)
Resolutions give us a reminder to stop for a few moments and prioritize what's truly important to us, no matter how big or small. It's fun to dream and hope. Hope is good. Cheers to each of you for a very happy and prosperous 2012!
