Southology

Resolutions, Resolutions

By Betty ⋅ January 3, 2009 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅

Who can resist the clean slate of a new year? Despite my general Scrooge-iness this Christmas season, I realized I still looked forward to a fresh start when I didn’t need to think long and hard when a friend asked what my resolutions were. (This after having celebrated my New Year’s Eve with a simple non-celebration with sans the usual fanfare—no round fruits, no coins, no jumping up and down (too late for that, I think), no loud noises and flashy fireworks.) We compared notes and found that one common denominator was—no surprise here—to eat healthy.

My reasons for wanting to develop better eating habits are not all about losing weight and slimming down—though that would be nice—but more about having abundant energy and good health (which, surprisingly, we sometimes forget). I suppose I’ve had too many meals (most of which, though not all, are “in the line of duty” for Southbound) that have left me sluggish and bloated, too many “never again” moments regretting my usual urge to try everything out (though that last buffet at The Bellevue was nice…). Of course I’m still planning to poke my head into every new restaurant that comes my way, and I can’t see how I’m going to lay off coffee (or lechon kawali!) for good, but the challenge for me is to eat enjoyable wholesome food (fruit and veg! Actually, I have no trouble with fruit… it’s the veg part that’s tricky…) and eat moderately most of the time, enough to let me get away with the occasional indulgence in the name of “research.”

Most resolutions—yours and mine—in fact are probably the same ones we made last year, and the year before. The list is familiar: travel to new destinations and explore more new places; earn more, save more, or get out of debt; get organized, get promoted, start a new business; quit a bad habit; make more friends and take care of your relationships; have more time for your family; save the environment, help others in need, make a difference; get in touch with your spirituality, develop a positive outlook on life, be happy. The fun thing about a new year is that we get another crack at our resolutions with no recriminations, none of the baggage of last year’s having tried and failed. That may sound rather negative and cynical, but it’s not: the new year gives us fresh drive, inspires us to forget the mistakes of the past, and try again. The trick becomes acting like it’s a new year every time we miss the mark or break our resolutions, which gives us the chance to start again—which is what life is about, really.

So what are your resolutions this year? And what resolutions have you carried over from last year? (I still haven’t gone sailing in Taal Lake, which is what I said I’d do last year… maybe this year will be the year!) We’ll try to keep you (and ourselves!) inspired with our posts for January, which means we’ll be on the lookout for healthy shops and restos to try, destinations to visit, new activities to get involved in, and more places to explore. Now excuse me while I go eat some berries.

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