Happy New Year/Birthday, TO ME!!!
Happy New Year, to me! Birthdays are personal New Years to me and I recently turned 57! I believe these are the best moments to make resolutions for myself, how will I be different? Adjusting my lifestyle is not bad, of course, however I believe that if true fundamental changes are to happen in our lives it is important to be mindful of the “how”, the fuel that drives our dreams and ambitions. When we create awareness to our motivations to our actions we begin to see clearer to why we end up in the same places, with the same people, with the same outcomes. How often have you asked your self how do I keep attracting these kind of people? Why do I always end up in such circumstances? We think, if I get up earlier, have a better breakfast or exercise but we keeping getting on the same train hoping it will take us to different place. Just because we clean up our life style we think our lives will make this dramatic shift. Don’t get me wrong, when we do improve our life style, our quality of life will improve. Regular exercise will bring better quality of sleep, clearer thinking, a greater sense of vitality, but it won’t chase away the boogey man who dances through your thoughts, infiltrating your self esteem, draining your peace of mind and sense of well being, and keeping you on that same damn train!
My new years resolution this year is to approach life with more patience, kindness and curiosity. I took these virtues on this year for two reasons; professional and personal. Professionally, there is so much information that comes at us on the daily with extreme prejudice sometimes makes it hard to decipher what is valid, what is b.s, and what is right for me. Especially when it deals with health and wellness. It’s my job to keep up with the latest trends of diet, exercise and supplements. The only way I can be of service to my patients is to be sure that I have taken the time to be clear in my evaluations. These virtues are essential to keeping a clear perspective in evaluating new information. Personally, I have seen how as people age, they get caught up in their ways. They build a box, and don’t want to come out! Not being open to new possibilities is a certain path to a decrepit old age. I am an adventurous guy, and, of course, have my biases and preferences, AND, I don’t want to live life in a box!
It’s important to be open to life, to ideas, cultures, and values that are different and challenging. That is how we grow, that is how we evolve. Some people are content, eating the same foods, listening to the same music, and riding the same train. Variety is the spice of life, and I say, it is the secret to staying young and vital. As much as our bodies enjoy routine, of regular eating, exercise and bedtime, we also thrive when we mix it up! Our brains neuroplasticity thrives when we are challenged to learn new things, added with new physical activity (or a rotation). If we do the same old thing, we will become the same old thing.
I am not so interested in living a long life, without being vital; physically, mentally and emotionally. In order to be keep moving forward it is important to approach life with a curios empathetic patience that allows for a journey of adventurous growth of the soul to connect with the world’s beauty. We all lives with amazing creativity, ingenuity and absurdity that shines a light to the mysterious meaning of life. The more we can ask questions with curiosity, kindness and patience the meaning of life will slowly reveal itself to you.
“I want to beg you… to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves… Do not now search for the answers… Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.“ Rainer Maria Rilke