Resolutions

Actually, I hadn't thought about making any resolutions until today, and I don't think of them so much as New Year's Resolutions but more as life-long resolutions. You wanna hear them? They're pretty simple ideas, more difficult to live out consistently...

1) Be thankful (and not judgmental or jealous)
2) Show affection more often to loved ones
3) Be a bit more open to people I come across in daily life, and be more intentional to treat them with kindness
4) Cultivate creativity in little ways each day

These are inspired by recent encounters with several friends who demonstrate these qualities so beautifully. I'll share a few stories...

In Dallas, I'm often prone to notice people's lifestyles (it seems that they often want you to notice here!) and how extravagantly they live. It's difficult for me to refrain from responding with an attitude of superiority (well, I would never spend that much!) or from feeling a slight tinge of jealously (wish I could afford to put my child in that music program...) Either way, I end up feeling yucky on the inside and like my focus is not in the right place.

Recently, while strolling with a new friend, we passed some luxury stores and commented on the fact that people actually shop there. I went on to make a judgmental comment about someone in my neighborhood who shops there. This friend didn't respond in kind with another self-righteous anecdote like mine...she simply said, "The most important thing is to be thankful for what we have, however much or little, and to remember that everything is a gift. That's what I want my kids to learn and to live by." I wholeheartedly agreed with her, and reflected on that for a few days. That is an approach that seems so simple and yet it is SO NEEDED in Dallas and the rest of North America. I appreciated that she was able to refrain from jumping in on the luxury-shopper bashing and instead, turn the focus around to the fact that whatever any of us have is a gift for which to be thankful. The antidote to jealous and self-righteous responses is remembering that for which we have to be thankful in our own lives. Now, on to putting it into practice...

Another long-time friend who lives in Tennessee reminded me of the importance of telling people what we appreciate about them. I noticed during a gathering of friends over the holidays, that she very naturally and cheerfully gave some lovely compliments to the others present throughout the evening, including one to me. She made everyone feel welcome and appreciated. I realized that when I notice something beautiful about another person, I often think it to myself without thinking to share it readily. This applies to physical affection as well...even if I care deeply about someone, I don't demonstrate that with a hug as often as I'd like to. I'm not sure why...there are exceptions to that, though, like Jon and Liam. :-)

A former neighbor and good friend in Montreal recently came to visit in Dallas, and while we were out and about during her stay, I noticed how open she is to people. I tend to make polite conversation at the grocery check-out, but my friend goes beyond that. She really looks at people, grasping little details about their lives, and engages in more meaningful conversation quite easily and naturally. As I watched her, I realized I often don't really see the person...I exchange pleasantries, but I'm focused on my own little life. I remarked the way several people lit up after my friend talked with them...feeling as though they had really been noticed and appreciated, even though the conversations were often simple. I need to really see and hear others...

My mom and my brother-in-law are very creative people without even trying to be. It just comes with who they are. I think that for them, it's like breathing, eating, bathing, sleeping. Wherever they are, whatever they're doing, it's gonna be creative in some way, shape, or form. I like that a lot. I inherited a bit of it from my mom but I have to be more intentional about cultivating it, or I just get into a lack-luster rut where I'm bored with life. I need creative projects in my life in order to appreciate beauty around me and restore a sense of wonder to the rest of my life. After spending Christmas with my family, I was inspired to follow through with some little creative projects to jump-start me back into creative living. One such activity will be post card exchanges.

I LOVE POST CARDS! I collect them wherever I go. When I was at L'Abri in Switzerland, two artists visited and shared their works with us. Among their incredible display, they included some post cards they had exchanged back and forth, each time added an artistic element or modification to the image on the front. They had some very powerful images come out of it as well as some silly, whimsical ones. I held onto that idea for a while and just recently decided to try it. I'm starting this week...maybe I'll include some pictures of the results on the blog.

If you read all the way to the end, thanks for caring about my thoughts! I would love to hear yours too. Feel free to share your comments. And maybe something I wrote will be of use to you in some way. Shalom, friends!