Resolving Resolutions

There are few things that fill me with exhaustion more than the dread of rushing through yet another holiday season…..so many holiday cards to address and send; gifts for everyone from your great-great-great niece to the fifth cousin removed from your sister-in-law’s mother. And that music!! Without coming off as Scrooge, the sound of jingling bells, merry chimes and HoHoHo’s need to come to a halt by the time January arrives.

The way I see it, the New Year is a way of taking a deep breath, slowing down and starting over.

If you noticed, I didn’t say anything about resolutions. In my book, resolutions are not a way of retarding the ever-increasing way most hustle and bustle through Life. Personally, I don’t need the additional pressure (or guilt) of coming up with yet another way I can become the perfect person. I think we’ve all lived long enough to know that a “one day promise” to change our life is not going to make us better or improved.  In fact, by the time the ball begins to fall and hits the ground, most of us have devised a way to get out of the little contract we’ve devised in our minds.

Sure, I know we’ve all resolved to eat better, exercise more and keep up to date with our emails, but these are everyday undertakings that we should be aware of for our own physical well-being and peace of mind; not as a chore that seems doomed before it has begun. But truly, if I am to be pressed about making New Year’s resolutions, then I say, instead of making them for myself, I’d like to throw out a few I wish others would make:

~ Be courteous. Leave hostile in the gutter where it belongs. We’re all in this journey of Life together. Let’s at least try to get along. Basic manners work here. Please. Thank You.

~ Put down the Phone when talking to others (better yet, leave it in your pocket).  Contrary to what you may think, no one is interested in any conversation you may be having and having a talking device attached to your ear does not make you important. Um, I think this goes along with being courteous.

~ Clean up after yourself. It never amazes me how sloppy and disrespectful people can be. One thrown piece of paper from a gum wrapper could add up to a whole community of waste blowing in the wind. We’re all grown up here and no one should have to pick up after us; did I mention courteous?

~ Hold the door open for a stranger. We can all use a little bit of help from time to time. Now, because your phone is in your pocket, you can extend a courteous act.

~ Smile. I know you’ve all heard how smiling uses less muscles than frowning or how just the act of smiling psychologically sends “feel good” neurotransmitters to the brain, but a smile is a gift you can give away for free. And they are contagious. So just think, because you are not on your phone 24/7 you can help someone with a gracious (which is synonymous with courteous), simple smile.

See how by one act, kindness grows; how one resolution really becomes five? And because I believe these acts should be every day, spontaneous knee-jerk reactions to others, I’ll also resolve to enforce them .

Carpe Diem!