Resolutions

The new year brings in a great question that rattles all of our lives:  how should I change my life?  No matter how big or small the impact that the change your heart desires to see, we all aspire to bring a better self forward and hope that people can really change.  It is very hard to change, it involves self reflection, denial and acceptance of problems or ruts that we individually collapse into.  It is not surprising that that the most common resolution is to lose weight.  It is disturbing to me that this goal is not to be healthier in my lifestyle choices, and more unsettling is that we believe that our weight determines happiness.  In our culture, the media, as well as preconceived notions of beauty, controls our goals and insecurities.  I do agree that losing weight for many people can solve problems, whether it is medically or image-wise, but we should concentrate on building a life that is generally healthier, including less TV time and more exercise time (guilty), and less microwave dinners and more meals cooked with fresh and natural ingredients.  This also includes emotional health, building strong relationships with the people in your life and spending more face-to-face time rather than cyber stalking.