6.17.2010

Half Year's Resolutions

Since I no longer believe in making New Year's Resolutions, as I'm not a fan of setting myself up for failure, I decided that June is as good of a time as any to set goals for myself. And, although maybe they should be, these are not the kinds of typical goals one sets for 'resolution-type goals'. These are the kind of things that cross my mind once in awhile, but then fall away from me. My hope is that if I acknowledge them enough to write them down, I will look to this in the future and think, "Oh, I cared about this enough to write it down, I should keep doing it." We'll see.

To name a few:
-Reflect...I was once much more introspective than I am right now. Some may call it 'living in the moment' and that may be not totally a bad thing, but I kind of miss my ability to introspect.

-Observe...I don't take things in enough. The birds, the trees, the very gift of breathing, pretty much all the little things (well, air is kind of a big one)...The giddy way my dogs act when I come home at the end of every single day, holding Shawn's hand, the comfort of my bed, the taste of the food I'm eating. I always kind of thought adults just didn't 'get it' when they talked about racing through life and forgetting to stop and enjoy the small things. But the older I get, and the more 'adult' responsibilities I take on, I realize that forgetting to notice the world around you in an effort to get where you're going is just so freaking simple. I can't blame it all on the working world, I imagine it would be similar for anyone with a cramped schedule and adult obligations, but yeah. I think there comes a point when enjoying the little things ceases to come naturally and begins to require vigilance and conscientiousness. Actively taking note to take note is possibly just part of it?

-Be more like my dogs...What? No, I'm serious. The longer I am a dog owner, the more I become convinced that the world would be a better place if more of us possessed the souls and spirits of the canine species. Go ahead, disagree with me all you want about where or not animals have spirits or souls. Possibly, they do not. But they do have emotions, they do demonstrate devotion and commitment to the human beings responsible for caring for them, trust, loyalty, fidelity, earnestness, these are a few of the qualities that dogs possessed, and only a few on the extensive list. It's true that the more I see of people, the more I enjoy my dogs. Who do not judge. Who don't care how much I weigh or if I smell like roses or otherwise, who rip and run joyously around the house upon my homecoming, oh I could go on and on, and I probably will at a later date.

These are a few of my half year's resolutions. Another one involves getting more sleep, which I'm going to attempt to do riiiiight...now. :)