The start of a new year is usually the time most people make some changes. It is a good time to evaluate one’s life and start some new healthy habits. I didn’t get around to this task until today, January 5, 2022, but I feel like I am not too late to do some appraisal of my life.
Of course, improving my diet and increasing my exercise comes to mind right away. I am continuously working on those two parts of my life; however, I want to dig deeper this year. I want to find a new habit or improvement.
I decided to read a few articles about what other people are pledging to improve and I read an article written by a New York Times contributor, Tish Harrison Warren, which outlines resolutions that are good for the soul.
Here is one I love:
Engage with the offscreen world first
“Every morning, wherever I am in the world, I go outside before I look at a screen. I’ve managed to do this consistently for about four years. Often I go outside just for a few moments. But as soon as I step outside, I not only find my senses coming alive, I also find myself feeling smaller — a creature in the midst of creation, rather than the god of a tiny glowing world.
“It’s been kind of ridiculously transformative — ridiculously, that is, given how simple this discipline is. I’ve found myself far more grateful, far less anxious, and far less interested in whatever my screens have to tell me that day.
“Also, for the first time in my life, I consistently know the phase of the moon, which doesn’t seem like such a small thing.”
— Andy Crouch, author of “The Techwise Family”
In other words, the author is a weather watcher.
My dad took great pleasure in observing the weather.
Dad and Mom loved their retirement home where he did most of his monitoring.
My dad secured a rain gauge on his back deck, and each day he walked out onto his deck to check that rain gauge, looked around, and evaluated his surroundings. (He even documented the rain he captured on a calendar that hung in the kitchen.)
On the back of the house, a breakfast nook faced a tree outside adorned with bird feeders provided them with hours of entertainment. They sat at the table in the breakfast nook each morning eating breakfast, drinking coffee, reading the paper, and planning out their day. It was a wonderful way to appreciate nature, weather, and I am sure they realized through this exercise and watching the birds that they were just “creature(s) in the midst of creation”.
So, my New Year’s Resolution for 2022……… Drum roll, please.
Simply, open my drapes each morning, step outside on my balcony, and before I start my day, appreciate my surroundings.
I also promise to stop by Westlake Hardware later this week and purchase a rain gauge and a small bird feeder.
(It was 15 degrees this morning when I stepped out at sunrise.)
Let the fun begin!
It will be good for my SOUL.
Sally and I have the beautiful advantage from our home of watching the world wake up in the morning and go to sleep by the light of the moon at night!
Happy New Year, Paula!