A New Year’s Resolution for every year

January 1, 2016

Dear Rhonda:

This is a reminder that it’s not too late.
Remember the minutes, the hours and the days will pass whether you do “that thing” or not. It is the moment by moment choices we make that move us forward.

Or backward.

And it’s not a competition, either. This is an important point for you, because you have a nasty habit of wallowing in self-pity, which is a sinful waste of time.

Yes, I said sinful.

You watch The Others: those who’ve already accomplished the things you’ve longed to accomplish, some of them at a younger age. They’ve made different choices, perhaps, but is it your business to judge yourself by someone else’s journey? They are farther down the road, it’s true, and they run faster. They reach each bend and disappear long before you arrive and you always feel you might never catch up.

But if you focus on their journey, you take your eyes off your own. Your focus will switch from being curious. From reveling in the lovely moments. You will stop summoning the courage to weather all the difficulties that pass through like a storm.

Stop saying you’re not as favoured as other people. Stop wondering if you’ll ever be good enough. Despair is a luxury you cannot afford and such words bring you dangerously close to standing still.

In fact, try to stop focusing on yourself at all, and focus more on being a conduit for whatever positive thing might come through you. Please do not waste the irreplaceable commodity of time, a finite resource, and yet, not something to fear.

Instead, be mindful with purpose, savouring precious moments with the ones you love.

Oh, and…don’t forget to write about them.