Day 595

Sammy is all tuckered out! We saw the New Year in with dear friends up at the cottage and our youngest Golden was the center of ALL THINGS PARTY! Today, he has been catching up on his beauty sleep...sweet boy!

For years, I would greet the New Year with at least one resolution to be the focus of changing my life! More water, less food, more exercise, less negativity, more good deeds, less sugar, more sleep, less...well, you get the idea. With all of these lofty goals through the years, about the middle of January would find me reverting back to old habits. This year, I was determined to find one resolution that I could actually accomplish without lagging, forgetting or becoming frustrated.

Sitting in the quiet, where thoughts seem to emerge more genuine, different goals came forward and and then retreated in my mind and heart. However, I was determined to come up with the perfect resolution to greet the year 2024! A conversation began with my subconscious (SC)...

Me: "I could eat less bread."

SC: "You LOVE bread! How are you going to face Perkins without a mammoth muffin? HMMM?"

Me: "I could go to bed earlier and get more hours of sleep."

SC: "You detest sleeping! Think of the wasted hours!"

Me: "I could get back on the elliptical in the basement."

SC: "That old thing is going to hurt you AND you can't walk Goldens on a machine!"

Me: "I could drink more water."

SC: "Well, that's not bad, but what a wimpy goal!"

Closing my eyes in the solitude of the morning, I had an epiphany! For me, setting a tangible goal simply doesn't work. Something deeper and more nebulous was needed. A resolution that comes from the heart!

My 2024 resolution:

*Be present.

Be present with the people I love, while writing, with my Golden walks, while volunteering and any other part of my daily journey. To be present, instead of my mind wandering off to the next thing on the list, will address so many other smaller goals in life. Be present.

Now, If Sammy has set a resolution for 2024, it will hopefully be to become the best Therapy Dog EVER! We shall see...the year is young!