A new year - all bright and shiny with possibilities! I seem to be especially excited this year - the start of my 6th decade! - and look forward to all that will unfold.
I'm not a resolution person, but I did spend the last days of 2009 reflecting on things I might change for 2010, and realized that all those things have to do with: Kindness.
I would like to be kinder in all I do. I'd like to truly take time to consider the impact of what I do and say before I act or speak. That's a hard one for me as I'm rather spontaneous. A bit more thoughtfullness will require a concentrated vigilance on my part, that's for sure. But I think it's worth my time to give it a go.
The most significant and kindest change I've made (on December 27th) is to commit to being a vegetarian. The transition has been long in coming and has been, happily, quite easy. Meat, I realized, has for a long time been nothing more than an plate "accessory" and sauce carrier for me. It bears little resemblance to the meat I remember as a child, and I came to the conclusion that it really isn't necessary to consume something that doesn't satisfy me physically or emotionally. No one was more surprised than me to discover the immediate - I mean immediate - sense of relief and peace I felt when I decided not to eat meat. Who knew I apparently harbored deep feelings of angst and guilt about it? But I guess I did.
What I feel now is calm and peaceful and, well: Kind. Being a vegetarian, I've realized, is kind to me, to the animals, and to the environment. And there's a wonderful satisfaction that comes in having my actions in harmony with what is in my heart.
One step closer to being the person I want to be; the best me.
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