Some Thoughts for the New Year

Rather than write a regular blog article, I am jotting some thoughts to share. Please feel free to add your own along the way.

I don’t make resolutions, most people don’t make it through the week. No one wakes up on January 1 having lost 50 lbs and exercising for an hour a day and craving foods low in fat, high in fiber and moderate portions.
· Be realistic.
· Sit down and write what you can do tomorrow that makes sense.
· I always say, if you are eating a package of Oreos a day, don’t go cold turkey, give up one sleeve of them, that still leaves 2 sleeves and you can wean yourself.
· Of course, not eating any or limiting yourself to a couple is the better choice and an even better choice is to reach for a crisp apple, cut in half with some peanut butter, it’s filling and crunchy.
· Back to what you can do that makes sense.
· Don’t set lofty goals. You set yourself up for failure.
· If you don’t engage in physical activity, don’t expect to run the Ironman Triathlon in 6 months. Say you will take a brisk walk for 10 minutes three times a day and work up to 15 minutes, you get the idea.
· Talk with your lifestyle coach for ideas.

Take time to smell the roses. Carve out some time for you. Meditate, close your eyes and listen to some “quiet music”—not head thrashing noise. Or, enjoy the silence around you. Open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you. One of my great joys is watching the little birds at the bird feeder.

Adopt a pet from the local shelter. The animals are always appreciative, trust me, I know, all of mine are rescues and they know the fate they were saved from. Puppy mills are quite cruel to the animals and buying a dog from a puppy mill only keeps them in business (my editorial comment). Speaking of adopting a pet, if you can’t have a pet for whatever reason but do love animals, volunteer at a local shelter. The animals always need someone to walk them, brush them and just give them some tender loving kindness. And you know, you will feel like a million bucks when you leave for the day.

Maybe animals aren’t your thing. Food banks, homeless shelters, senior centers and nursing homes always are short staffed and appreciate an extra set of hands. I worked as an activities director in a few different nursing homes in a former life. Each “old” person you see was once your age and they have some pretty interesting stories to tell of a time gone by. Take some time to visit with someone. I have had the pleasure of hearing some very interesting real life stories. I treasure each of them.

Enjoy the here and now, I read a wonderful line just recently, went something like this: if you focus too much on the future, you will miss today. So true. Having a rough day? Try to find some moment in the day that maybe wasn’t so bad, surely there was one. Maybe someone just smiled at you and said hello or thank you. Maybe your child, grandchild, dog or cat just felt you needed some kindness and they held your hand or laid a fuzzy head on your leg.

If your place of employment or your spouse’s place of employment has a wellness program, take advantage of it, go to health screenings, get your health report card and if things are out of whack, take charge. Appreciate your health, don’t take it for granted.

“Let our New Year's resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.”Goran Persson (Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006)

No recipes this month. My favorite treat this time of year are clementines, those tasty little tangerines. They are seedless and you can eat 2 or 3 or more, get your vitamin C and they are sweet. Enjoy a sugar free hot cocoa mix on a cold day.