Be Kind: An Update

January is already half over so I thought I should re-evaluate how my excessive New Year's Resolution-ing is going. I decided to take 2010 month-by-month (for the most part) and January's goal was to be kind.

Be kind. That's kind of vague. And huge.

But lately I have been grumpy, often over absolutely nothing. I'll remember something someone said or did, something small that happened like a week ago that doesn't affect me at all. Yet I find myself stewing over it until it affects my attitude. Or I worry about things that I really don't need to worry about. I've always been a worrier, but worse than that, I will fret over things that I know are definitely okay until I'm angry over nothing. This is all nonsense and it needs to stop.

The key to stopping my grumpy worry nonsense, that I generally take out on others and just makes me feel sour inside, is to refocus my life on God and act on that more. If you asked me at any given time on any given day, of course I would tell you that God is most important. If you looked at how I spend my time and energy, you would doubt that. There was a time in my life when I literally prayed with out ceasing. The inner monologue in my head was with God and not with grumpy self over how stupid something is. I believe if I can fix this, it will have a positive ripple effect on everything else. So far I've seen an improvement. My success rate of spending a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes in the evening in prayer is on the rise. Baby steps.

Also, I've been working on finding more volunteer opportunities. I helped a friend on a small writing project for a local non-profit and I hope to do more of that in the future. I'm also thinking about becoming a regular volunteer with another organization. I think I've pretty much decided what I want to do, now I just need to actually do it. And a couple months ago I became involved with It Starts with Us and the A-Team, a group that gets weekly missions from Nate to do good things. These are little 15-minute projects. You don't have to participate every week, but it's a great way to challenge yourself to go the extra smile. Small kindnesses can go a long way.

And in the spirit of helpfulness... Here's a post of ways you can help the people of Haiti. This next one kind of pales in comparison to the tragedy there, but if you click on the link below and vote for Lexington Children's Theatre, they could win a million dollars. It costs you no money, and I cannot image a group of people more dedicated to their jobs and more in love with the good work they do. Not only do they help little kids find a voice, give them a place to let their talents shine, and bring stories to life for them, they also do a lot of outreach in the eastern part of the state, which is an area that truly needs the extra love.

The other resolutions? Umm...well...

While they're not the central focus this month (The theory is each month I'll build a new habit. Right?) they're not far from my mind. I've read more than in 2009, but still not on track to finish 50 books this year, but not too far off track either! The Two Towers was probably not the best place to start, but I was already 60 pages in on January 1! The working out has been worse. I've told myself that I can't spend the Christmas money I've set aside for clothes shopping until I've trimmed down. That hasn't been enough motivation yet but I'm eternally optimistic. I have been watching more movies (Avatar, Inglorious Bastards and Julie and Julia were all delightful.). I have tried a new local restaurant and a few new recipes. So far, not too bad.



image: Still Thinking