Yes, this is a little behind. I have been happily jumping
into 2014 and not thinking much about resolving to do anything other than
embrace it with both arms. But since I have thought a lot about this post
already, might as well crack on with it.
Historically my resolutions focus less on “stop” and more on
“do.” In the past I’ve resolved to read all the Pulitzer Prize winners, in
which I learned I loathe the works of William Faulkner with a passion. I vowed
to write more fiction, write more on this blog (yeah about that..), I
volunteered, learned to salsa, took a burlesque class, aerial acrobatics class,
ran a 5k and found a fond joy for
running. You get the gist.
The past year was full of some amazing emotional ups and
downs. I went into December with little desire to write any resolutions. Then I saw this little list of the Pope Francis's New Year’s resolutions.
I am not Catholic, but I have to admit that I dig this Pope
like crazy. He is what I imagined Jesus meant for his followers: a kind,
considerate, loving human being. He doesn’t position himself as infallible.
But a man who embraces his fallacies and looks for ways to be a better
human being to all the other fucked up human beings who live on this planet.
Since I read that list, I’ve also seen his comments on breastfeeding babies in public. I’ve been to the Sistine Chapel. I would applaud a few more
lactating mommies in that beautiful room.
Then there are his thoughts on gays and women in the church.
There still much, much more room for progress, but rock on.
So this year I resolved to adopt the Pope’s resolutions.
Less malice, more love. Less things, more thought. Less anxiety, more thankful.
And above all more happy. Those seem like damn good resolutions to me.
I’m happy to say the year ended on such a high note, it
still takes my breath away. But more about that later. Until then, Live Like the Pope (LLP) is a pretty good mantra for 2014.
