Yearly resolutions? Daily ones are enough for me. One of the habits I am grateful to have today started during my divorce. Every morning for about three months, I would wake up at 4 a.m., anxious. At first I fought it, then I decided to accept it, and, after the first two or three weeks, made the most of it. I got up, found something inspirational to read, wrote about it, and then walked for an hour or two. In 13 weeks, I read 12 books about grief, crisis, relationships, marriage, divorce, and even dating. I wore through two journals and one pair of shoes. While I no longer wake at 4, I still enjoy reading, writing, and walking before sunrise.
Somewhere in that reading pile I acquired a bookmark. Instead of once a year resolutions, it has daily ones. There’s enough wisdom in its nine paragraphs and twenty-three sentences to last me a lifetime. Each of the paragraphs begins with the phrase, “Just for Today.” When I read my bookmark, I resolve to, Just For Today: live one day at a time, be happy, take my luck as it comes, learn something useful, “do somebody a good turn,” do at least 2 things I don’t want to do, “save myself from hurry and indecision,” have a quiet half-hour to relax, and “not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful, and to believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.” Whew! Ambitious, but not impossible. Like any good resolutions, they’re worth shooting for, anyway. Perhaps if I shoot for them long enough, one day they’ll be second nature. And when that happens, maybe I’ll be ready to resolve something for longer than 24 hours.
