This year was considerably better than 2005. No hurricanes or other major natural disasters, no deaths in the family, no illnesses, financial crises or marital strife.
Over the last year, Clinton and I achieved a tremendous amount as a couple. To name just a few things:
- We chose to move from a drafty Chapel Hill house to a great apartment in Durham with lots of amenities and a convenient location, which has made us very happy;
- we excelled at our jobs;
- we adopted a puppy;
- we made our mental health a priority;
- we decided to stop eating red meat (and for Clinton, any meat at all);
- we located and joined a very fulfilling spiritual community; and
- we succeeded in our first year of marriage!
I think one of Clinton’s biggest personal accomplishments of 2006 was taking the huge and scary step of starting college again after an 11-year sabbatical.
The two actions I took over the year that benefitted me the most personally were:
1) joining the local running group and 2) hiring a housekeeping service. The former resulted in my improved physical and mental health and led me to run my first half marathon. The latter was one product of some very important personal epiphanies I had this year, which resulted in translating many intentions into actions.
My New Year’s resolutions for 2007 are many, but here are some which I think are the most important. I plan to:
- Practice unconditional love. By this I mean assuming people’s good will; being open to their strengths and weaknesses; and accepting imperfect people.
- Do half as much twice as well. Meaning saying no to tasks or invitations that do not suit me, those for which I do not have time, and those which I do not enjoy. It also means dropping commitments whenever I take on a new one.
- Say what I want. Being assertive, meaning positive, specific and direct. This also translates into looking out for my needs and ultimately taking care of myself.
Best wishes to you and your families for 2007!
One Response to Happy New Year