A New Year

We've had a quiet, restful start to the new year, which was just fine by me. The last few weeks of 2008 were so busy, and I'm perfectly content to sit, reflect on the year gone by, and dream of the year to come.

I'm not a huge fan of resolutions--it's probably the word that I dislike more than anything else. Anymore, it's a loaded word, and I feel as though making a resolution is more like making a demand upon myself and allowing no room for setbacks, let alone failure. Frankly, it's a recipe for disaster in my world.

Of course, it's so important for a person to have goals, and the first of the year always has me thinking of the things I'd like to do over the course of the next 12 months; there are always going to be things that I'd like to accomplish, and that's how I like to think at the beginning of a new year--what would I like to accomplish. Not 'What should I do?' or 'What must I do?' Those things will always be there, and I really try to be mindful of them, but what I like to focus on at this time of the year are those things that I want to do simply because I feel that they'll make me happy.

These are some things that have been floating through my mind for a while:

1. Learn to knit. I've been so nervous to sign up for a class, but there's a free one being offered at the library, and I think I'm going to do it. It's a small class, and doing hands-on work with someone who knows how to knit has got to be the best way to learn.

2. Make more time for reading. Of course, being able to actually say, "I have two hours to sit and read," means that I will have to...

3. Learn to be better organized. It really has become necessary for me to learn to budget my time, and maybe even make a schedule. I truly believe that, if I can accomplish this goal, it'll be easier for me to accomplish others.

4. Seriously study German. We're headed to Germany again in June, this time for almost a month. While it is definitely the case that I can get by with knowing the little German that I do, I'm not really comfortable with that. I've dusted off my German textbook from college and started making vocab flashcards again, and I'm really quite excited to get started!

5. Take more photos. I dropped the ball on Project 365 last year, and it was primarily because I often felt that I wasn't doing things that warranted photos, and I would often leave my camera at home when I went out. I think the key here is to be more open-minded and to view everything as a photo opportunity.

6. Be mindful. It sounds very vague, but I think this is the most important goal I've made for this year. This one applies to every aspect of life, from the food that I choose to eat to the ways in which I interact with people. I'm excited to see how my life can be better by following through with this goal.

There are so many more things I could add to the list, but these are the most important to me. I think 2009 holds a lot of potential, and it's up to me (and you, too!) to make the most of it!

Happy New Year!