More or Less

I know that not making New Year's Resolutions is currently en vogue. Yet I can't help but see the start of each new year as an opportunity to reflect on whether or not I am currently living the life I want. As a recovering perfectionist who has found a life-source in grace, I need to be careful with this, of course. I don't want to fall into the trap of never being content with myself as I am. I never want to believe that I am only the sum total of what I do. I certainly don't want to inch anywhere near a theology that believes God only loves or saves me if I do the right "something." Yet, all that said, I've come to realize that every moment of every day is full of doing something. I manage to fill all 24 hours of each and every day with something. We all do. The question is whether or not these are the somethings I really want. The trouble with making resolutions, in my experience, is that they always seek to add something, without taking something else out. Or, conversely, they remove something without an adequate plan for what will take its place. So this year, rather than make standard resolutions, I have a list of the things I want more or less of in my life in the coming year. Here are my plans for 2010, more or less.

More books. Less screen time.

More crosswords. Less Farmville.

More moving. Less sitting.

More healthy snacks. Less afternoon munchies.

More plans to do things with others. Less wishing there were something to do.

More reasonable bed times. Less Bejeweled. (are you sensing a theme?)

More podcasts and the music I love. Less commerical radio.

More love. Less fear.

More contentment. Less anxiety.

More joy. More joy. There's always room for that.

May 2010 bring you whatever you hope for: more or less.