auld lange syne

Apologies for my absence from the blog space - my family spent Christmas week in the Dominican Republic (go ahead and hate me; more details on that in a later post), so getting back to reality and feeling happy about being back at work and not looking at beautiful beaches has been a challenge.

See what I mean?





I have made a host of New Year's resolutions that include the usual --

Workout more, eat less (or just better).

Spend less, save more.

Write more, rot my brain with Bravo and TLC reality shows less.

Breathe deeply. 

Be kind. 

Choose love.

If this list makes me sound annoyingly ambitious, keep in mind it's only January 3 - I'm sure these lofty goals will fade. 

But then again, when I think about "auld lange syne," or "times gone by," in 2012, I am so very grateful to tell you that I managed to stick to last year's resolution to be more present.  There were a few moments of crazy that involved obsessing about the past or worrying about the future, but for the most part I was, as I'd hoped, locked and loaded on the here and now.   

Living presently has forced me to become more in tune with what my body and soul need; I have learned how to embrace the moment.  But I fear in doing so, I have lost my spark a little bit.  The spirited nature that moved me to do 365 new things before I turned 30, start this blog and set my sights on a book was tabled in an effort to quiet the storm inside of me.

I know that I had to do it, and I feel like I'm a better person - happier and healthier - because of it.  But if a balance exists between living presently while still exercising my ambition and finding the courage to pursue my talents, my resolution for 2013 is to find it.

New Year's Resolutions - be them to lose weight or get out of debt or stop smoking - are really just vehicles we use to help us arrive at our ultimate goal to simply be happier.

I gave my mom a book a few years ago called The Happiness Project.  She gave it back to me on my 31st birthday and I finally started reading it on our Christmas trip.



It's such a great book for this time of year - about how being a better friend, better parent, better partner, better employee will all lead us to the outcome we all want - to be happier.  Gretchen Rubin, the book's author, goes on a year-long journey to become happier, by becoming a better friend, better parent, better spouse and better employee, and she writes about her journey with examples, practical and measurable actions that I've already started to apply to my life.

I'm not quite done, but if you're looking for a way to get happy - or rediscover your fire like me - I highly recommend it. 

I wish you much peace, love, health and happiness in 2013!