I’m Making a New Year’s Evolution, Not a Resolution.
And here’s why
It has been the year of unimagined happenings. It has been the year of the pivot and a time of flux. So, flux it! Time to approach this differently.
Resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something.
Evolution is a gradual development of something from a simpler to a more complex form.
2020 was a bitch. Nailbiter elections, a predatory disease that has destroyed lives, homes, and for some, faith. To put it bluntly, this shit will linger. 2020 will be the year to mile mark and to benchmark badness. I believe the last thing I need is a stiff serving of unbending, firm decisions. I don’t give a flux about stakes in grounds right now, I just want to feel good.
If you take a trip to the place where old resolutions go to die you will find half-eaten cakes, exercise bikes now serving as thousand-dollar clothes hangers, and unused gym memberships. Some additional clutter is also there; like unfinished letters of apology, and budget spreadsheets without numbers.
Something about extreme measures
I’m all about the affirmation. I’m the metaphysical maven whose purse is weighted with lavender, rose quartz, and crystals for healing and protection. I also consider instinct data. But the moment I leave my soft practices and place an extreme firm stake in the ground, my energy changes. I move from positive peace to stress, guilt, and eventual anger.
Going deep
Maybe it’s like the famous koan or riddle used in Zen Buddhism; “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Our resolutions automatically create opposing forces that lead to a conflict of pain vs pleasure or two hands clapping.
For example, I like X. X makes me feel good and smile.
Enter Resolution: “Myra, X is no longer in our plan and you must halt. Stop immediately. Back away from X.”
F — — k that!
Enter evolution: “Dearest Myra. It is the journey, not the destination that matters most. (Forgive the cliché). Let’s make room for X once a week and reassess after six months.”
Now, I’m back in the pleasure zone skipping to my baby steps.
There is a time for unbending resolve, I guess. But for me it’s not after a year that has already taken so much away from us; human contact, human kindness, the feeling of safety, and stability.
The lesson
Because there’s always a lesson… it might be that the ability to pivot is true strength and those who can be flexible and adapt or evolve will succeed. According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives, but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”
So, My New Year’s evolution is to find and embrace the pleasure of life, love, and laughter; to eat more whole foods than junked ones, and to allow a bottle of full-bodied cabernet to survive more than a couple of hours in my presence.
All of this once a week. I’ll reassess in six months.
