Resoluations**

There is something magical about the beginning of a new year.  It's a time for wrongs to be righted, sins to be erased, bad habits to die, good habits to be born, lives to change, things to get better, resolutions to be made. I know the birth of a new year isn't the only time these things can happen.  I get it; we can change any time we want to.  Just because it's May doesn't mean we have to wait until January to start brushing our teeth at least once a day, or whatever it is we need to do.  I know all of these things, but, to me, there is still something attractive about starting a new year with a new, improved version of yourself.  Unless, of course, you don't need any improvement, which happens to be the category I fall into.  Just kidding. :) 

So, my resolutions for 2011 are as follows:


1. Drink at least one glass of water daily.
--Look, I know it's not a lot, but it's more water than I drank last year. :) Also, see Resolution #2.


2. Only make resolutions that are feasible for where you are right now.  Do not promise yourself that you'll to learn to fly while talking on your cellphone in the middle of a snowstorm.  You'll just feel disappointed and give up all hope.  This is not code for taking the easy way out.  This is permission to love who you are, where you are.
--In previous resolution lists I've had the bad habit of creating goals for myself that weren't anywhere close to realistic.  From 2011 on, I'm done with that.


3.  Take more pictures.
--I tote my camera almost everywhere; I just have no follow through.  Would you like to see some pictures from Christmas?  Sorry. You can't. That's right; I don't have any.  See the issue here?


4. Unmuddle your self.  Be who you want to be.
--I believe that there are many different versions of every self.  (If you don't, please don't tell me because the first month of a new year is no time for an identity crisis.  Maybe give me a call in August.)  
For example, one version of myself is organized, clutter free, and manages her time wisely.  Another version of myself  is a poor manager of her time and feels as though she is always a day late and a dollar short.  Yet another version of myself is quick to anger and slow to listen to her opponent; she uses her quick and fiery to tongue to prove her point and get her way; it doesn't matter if she's right or not because, she is rarely, if ever, wrong.  A fourth version of myself  is kind and patient, maybe a little too empathetic.  Another one is melancholy and frequently struggles to enjoy or find value in her life.  Believe it or not, there is another version who is happy and generally content with life; she can almost always see the good in people and always strives to find the optimistic view of a situation.  
I'm sure I could go on, but you're probably a little worn out, especially if you were convinced I was angelically perfect.
Despite all of these versions, I believe that a person can choose the composite self she wishes to be.  I think that previously I have refused to decide which has resulted in the birth of a muddled self.  This muddled self is not the self I want to be because, well, for one, she's all muddled up, and, most importantly, she is not the best version of myself.  You see?  I just need to unmuddle.  So, in 2011 I am searching all of my versions and combining their qualities, while throwing a few out with the garbage, to create a better version of myself.  A version of myself I can be proud of. 
I also must say that I believe the best versions of our selves are our true selves.  The selves God created us to be. 
This resolution doesn't mean that at the conclusion of 2011 I will be a perfect person with no other characteristics to work on or personality traits to tweak.  This unmuddlement is just about making a conscious effort to be the person I want to be, the person I am supposed to be.




**Every time I typed "resolution" or "resolutions" in this post I had to go back and corrected because I had originally typed "resoluation"or "resoluations."  Perhaps my unmuddled self will have better typing skills. :)