Starting fresh is rejuvenating.

So why does the word resolution sound obligatory?

Like a punishment. We almost beg our resolutions to fail.

I can often find a war in between the lines of New Year’s resolutions. Within the good intention, there is a battle between our “good” selves, the person we feel we ought to be,

and our “bad” selves, the person we were during the holidays, when we blew the lid off moderation. They have an uneasy co-existence, and one that often pits them against each other.

I know for me, my perception of my “good” self, and who I ought to be, is more of an ideal. It expects perfection when I exist in a human body, which by it’s nature, is imperfect. As my friend, Elisa Mehl, describes it so well, we are part angel and part animal. So as this year has rolled in, I’m holding the question of how to create a whole life, not one where I idealize the angel and demonize the animal.

I’m starting with my New Years resolution. I am choosing themes and words that engage the part of me that likes wild and marrying it with ideas that will nourish, foster creativity and extend my health.

For me, 2017 is my year to learn the pleasure of getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. I want to feel alive. I want all of me engaged.

So, as you look at your resolutions, I offer an invitation. Find the pleasure in your resolutions or make new ones. Listen to more live music, try a new restaurant, meditate (you knew that was coming, right?), travel somewhere new, call an old friend (not Facebook message them). The list is endless.