Resolutions

Beware of them! In the same way that we may be tempted to finish the food on our plates, or to stay somewhere until an "even" hour, (3pm, 4.30pm), it is tempting to say, "This year will be totally different." January 2008 is a mere minute away from December 2007 (or a second, really). We are indeed free at any moment to make different choices and the act differently. But please, let's not be guided by the misconception that newness alone will give us the strength to maintain our new selves. In the same way that we must eat every day (and that is a struggle to do so well, for many of us), we must struggle daily to achieve our small and our large goals.

A large and sudden goal sets up the new year with great likelihood that we will fail ourselves. Let's set smaller and achievable goals.

This year, I resolve to continue, in small portions, the work I began last year.

Good luck!

Limits

Nietzsche remarked in Beyond Good and Evil that "man is free only when he is able to realize and accept his limitations."

We can do and do (and let's hope we do!), but only so much. Sometimes we reach the limit of effecting change, and we must accept that a new situation or environment is necessary to achieve our wants. Accepting that we are not in control is one of the most difficult things to do. But then, that is how we become free...and it is through freedom that we may achieve.

Let's push the boundaries of our limitations, but recognize and respect those that stand firm. They will teach us many things.

The Other Day

My friend saddened me with the information that he is, on a scale of 1-10 of where he would like his life to be, hovering near 0.

The secret to change is in the details.

If we get the details out of our heads, e.g. written down, we can peruse those, think, articulate more details, and begin to act.

Life can end at any moment. Let's at least know we did all we could to make the most of it.

Free

Existentialist philosophy deals with the notion that we are not fixed creatures, in fact, we are mere actors- e.g., we are not cowards, we have made cowardly decisions. However, at any moment, we are free to act in a way which is not cowardly.

People have a great time on vacation because they are free from the dredges of daily life in which one often finds oneself embroiled, and they are open to experiencing new and relaxing things. How can we incorporate this vacation-ness into our daily lives?

By remembering that we are ultimately free. Today is the day I am no longer bothered by X, because I have dealt with X. Tomorrow I will speak of being ruled by X in the past tense.

You can.

Clear...Free...!

Do we spend our time doing what we wish? Do we accomplish all that we feel we could?

There are innumerable things that can get us down in a day. Let's fight back by devoting fifteen minutes to address one of these things that weighs on us today.

Let me know how it goes. More tomorrow!

One Thing at a Time

As I sat in on a class at Harvard today, I was absolutely amazed at the sea of laptops before me. Chatty emails and updating friend websites were the least of what people spent their time in class doing. Fascinated by the lecture, I was continually distracted by students pointing out the goings-ons of other laptops across the room, some of which were truly amazing, but not appropriate to mention here...

Maybe they are all really good at multi-tasking. I'm not, and as my client last week said, "Nobody is." But this is the way of nowadays. Harvard probably wouldn't be competitive if they didn't have internet access in the lecture halls. And frankly, if I were a student there, I'd probably end up doing the same thing, just because it's there.

If we allow distractions in our paths, they will distract us. The effort to avoid them will allow us enjoyment of our present and subsequent activities, at least two-fold. But! Effort is difficult and underrated. One more thing. This constant multi-tasking is infused in our culture of "never enough." Friends, text messages, activities, belongings, appointments...never enough, everything becomes replaceable and disposable, and things as simple as reading a book or sitting in a chair with no electronic equipment nearby are shown pictured with subtitles like "Serenity," or, "Come to Waikiki..."

Let's try to do one (small) thing until it's done and see how it goes. (And if we forget and get distracted, we can always try again).