I really don't make resolutions. They always seem so doomed to failure.
Resolution 1: to lose 10 pounds. That seems to fail shortly after consuming the Valentine’s Day Whitman’s sampler entirely in one day.
That’s not to say I don't make changes; I do! For instance, when in the middle of yoga class on a hot July day, it occurred to me that now was the time to practice being more fully present to my family when they were in my space. (an example: look up from the paper as a teen drifts to the refrigerator and engage her every time) I made the decision to make a change because that was the moment it occurred to me that the sands in the hourglass of time I have in the same room with my young adults is rapidly running out! I find that big (or little) epiphanies leave me feeling "resolved" to do something instead of a creating a stack of required "resolutions" at the beginning of a new year, like some kind of the performance improvement plan. Why wait?
A yoga class on Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park
A big epiphany for us was that living the life we want cannot happen if we don't prioritize the things that matter to us as a family! Many years ago it occurred to Jeff and I that between jobs, family responsibilities and health concerns that prioritizing traveling would be something to resolve to do NOW, not in some distant future when the timing was finally right! A single week long trip from Boston to Australia (extending a conference Jeff was already paid to attend) taught us the wisdom of doing now what you can, rather than putting it off for the perfect time, when we have (pick your favorite excuse!) more money, more time, more time to plan, fewer responsibilities. Not every trip we've taken has been as long or as comprehensive as we've wanted, but each has been a stake in the ground to say "we are resolved to see the world together, now, in whatever way we can and while we can.”
An iconic nighttime view of Sydney Harbor, Sydney Australia
Being a traveler doesn't require one to go far and wide, or make expensive or elaborate plans. We have an longtime friend from high school, Lisa, who travels all the time. She's not fabulously wealthy, or retired, but she treats every journey like a traveler, whether she goes to Peru or to the local outlet mall with her niece. It's an attitude of discovery and awe she exhibits everywhere she goes! And it inspires me to look at every trip with the same kind of attitude!
I hope that our blog is a place that will inspire your own resolve to travel whether near or far, and a place to share your ideas that inspire others!
Happy New Year!
Coming up next:
Where we went in 2014
Where we plan to go in 2015