Thursday, January 03, 2008

• state of my union

  I've thought long and hard (for a year, actually) about my New Year's resolutions. I didn't make any resolutions last year because I wasn't sure what I wanted to accomplish, but now I do. Here they are:
  
  

  • Probably the easiest, I am going to make a good effort to reply to emails, text messages, snail mails, etc. in a much more timely fashion. I used to enjoy emailing but because of all the work I took on in 2007, in order to keep in touch with everyone emails had to be sent daily and often. It became such a chore. The sheer amount of emails was so overwhelming and took up an incredible amount of time. After a few months of this, I started replying weeks late, and soon I would resort to not replying at all, especially if they were personal letters. At the time, those personal kinds were considered "unimportant" and not particularly urgent. I'd read them, of course, and I cherished the heart put into those letters but by not replying, I had created a distance between the person and me. Sometimes, they'd get angry, hurt, and would leave them to wonder if I'd cared. Replying to emails will remind me that friendships are created by putting effort into the relationship. One can't simply expect to be understood and one needs to put effort into the people they care about.
    
  • This is related to how I want others to feel about themselves when they meet me. I want to reach into the hearts of others, get to know them, understand. The BYP members were significant in helping me to realize this. We all need to be sensitive to people's histories and where they are coming from (emotionally, spiritually, etc.) That, I think, is just too important.
    
  • I will try to live a minimalist, anti-consumerist lifestyle. I hate clutter because it's so overbearing, chaotic, and distracting. Living a minimalist lifestyle will keep me focused on my priorities and aspirations in life.
  • I want to spend more time with friends as well as create new ones. Seriously, friendships are worth creating, even if they aren't always perfect and don't always give you what you need (like, emotional support).
  • I will continue to avoid negative assholes who don't know how to treat people with respect and who constantly put others down; I will not tolerate it and I have no patience for such shit.
  • Make money so I can own a condo in the Washington, DC metro area. Money is access and stability. Additionally, I have to learn how to handle my finances smartly.
    
  • I will continue to view others' suffering with compassion and continue to work to uproot the evils causing it. At the same time, it's not something to be treated as if it were a "white man's burden."
    
  • I have to stop apologizing for who I am just because people don't have the capacity to understand and aren't willing to take the time to.
  • Learn to practice non-violence in everything, and stop exerting power when I have inherited privilege.
    
  • I will be more transparent about my needs and how I feel, instead of suddenly withdrawing with no explanation.
  • I probably won't keep this one, but I'm going to try going vegetarian. There are many reasons, but one of them is that eating meat is arguably a violent act and contributes to world hunger.
    
  • I will pay more attention to my body and health and to my public presence.
  • Learn to live interdependently. Being independent is all right, but being interdependent is better. We must learn to live with each other since our every action has its consequences whether or not we see it or meant it. In other words, every action has its vibrations and it -does- effect everyone around you, even those you don't know on the other side of the world. Also, we must learn to rely on each other -- we are not islands -- and we have our flaws and we need others to help us to teach us things as well as help lift others. It's called teamwork.
    
  • In every situation, I will try my best to rise above the circumstances.
  • Judge people by the content of their character, and that's it. I don't mean that if someone were to choose to become a prostitute, I'd automatically label them as "slut" then think of them as bad people, but in how much person will treat others as human beings and how much they value their own lives (which means being able to see prostitutes as full human beings). This is obviously inspired by MLK, jr.
    

  All of this is subject to change. I'm not happy with the way I've worded some of these because I don't think it accurately describes what I'm going for and why, but it's something like this and I needed to write for clarity and keep things straight. Luckily, I've gotten a head start on most of these.
  

  • 1:54 PM
  • 4 eprops
  • 2 comments