I gave up resolutions a long time ago…seems I never kept them…probably 
because they were some form of whipping me into shape…usually literally…and…somehow…that has never set well with my stubborn side…
I’ve found that setting an open-ended intention for the year works much better…it’s softer…and has multiple ways of coming into being…
Two years ago…as I was having brain surgery in January…after years of ignoring symptoms and pushing myself…I chose the intention of being gentler with myself…which worked well…as I found the recovery was more lengthy than I had anticipated…I needed a gentle year…of reading…resting…and non-pressured writing…
Last year…I chose to live fully…but…I also kept being gentle…which was a good thing…because the first half of the year…I still didn’t feel like living what I would have called fully…it’s only been in the last few months…that I have felt like really being active…the gentle component has helped me to realize that…living fully isn’t about activity…although that can be a part of it…it’s more about being present…finding ways to appreciate the everyday joys of life…a child’s smile…a kind word…the person who lets me ahead of them in the checkout line when I only have one item and they have a cart full…and…milking them…celebrating them…
This year…it’s a word…shine…and…I’m not exactly certain what it means…oh…I know the definition of the word…I’m just not sure how it is going to show up in my life…at first…I was excited…I’ll shine as an author…I’ll sell a million books and be on TV…but…Bertha…let me know that although that would be wonderful…just like activity isn’t living…being successful isn’t shining…
In fact…she tells me…that…shine…isn’t something that I can consciously do…I can’t will myself to shine…it’s actually the outcome from continuing to live my other intentions…being gentle…living fully…combined with the practices that sustain me…prayer…contemplation…meditation…the forgiveness prayer…writing…
Sounds good to me…shine on…
Jane
