One of my new year resolutions has been to reclaim some old good habits, one being the habit of pleasure reading. Between studying for school and being really busy with computer stuff, I haven’t really hard time or the inclination to read just for the pleasure of it. However, starting this year I plan to make the time. My book preferences have definitely changed, and I’m not as inclined to read novels and fiction as I used to be, but I have a nice little pile of books to work through.
The key here is to make the time. It may mean turning my latop off a little earlier every evening, bringing a book to school so I can read it on the train, and generally finding other ways to make time.
I’m off to a good start, a week or so ago I finished reading my first book this year – Something for the Pain, and I’ll be talking about that soon.
I know that’s a weird title but the truth of it just occurred to me a few seconds ago! I have come to the realization that productivity tools - calenders, to-do lists, alarms, reminders, etc. ARE helpful for me, just like they have been proven to be for many people. They’re not just for ‘other’ people, they’re for me too. I have JUST NOW come to that realization!! WOW!! I know that sounds incredibly arrogant on some level, and it is. But it’s the truth. I have never felt the need for them, I’ve used them but not really, I own them, I write stuff in them, I claim to need them, but I don’t truly feel like I do, and I don’t really use them. I think that needs to change.
Let me give you a little background on how this ‘epiphany’ just ‘happened’.
So 2009 is finally over and we’ve stepped over the threshold into 2010. Wow!
As has been my tradition at the beginning of every new year, I usually reflect on things that made me glad and things that made me sad in the past year. But this year I find myself reluctant to do so, not too sure why. Maybe it’s because 2009 was a particularly difficult year for me on a personal level, one that tested my mettle in many ways and made me see sides of myself that I did not like and that, frankly, I was very perturbed and sometimes pissed off about.
I know that there are many things about 2009 that I want to forget, things that happened outside my control (hello immigration), and things that happened inside of and emerged from me (blah!) One thing for sure is that even though there’s absolutely no apparent reason for it, I have high hopes for 2010, perhaps because I plan to wrestle the best out of it and out of myself.
The one constant that remained in 2009 and that made it all bearable was that I remained loved, cherished, and accepted – Thank you my love you have been my rock and anchor.
Many thanks to my true friends and to my family for being there.
There was much that was good, and fun, and uplifting about 2009 (summer vacation in DC with mary, Kathryn’s wedding, Alia’s arrival into the world, etc.), and I am thankful for that, and there was much that was painful, and difficult, and sad, and I am regretful of that. But 2009 is over, and it’s time to move on.
