New Years Resolutions - Starting Now!

Happy Holidays to everyone reading! I had a fantastic Thanksgiving with my sister, great food and some great friends. The pictures are of the food we ate (including my sisters pie) and at the best rooftop bar I've found in the city with my FL friends :)

As the year is coming to a close, I'm really thinking about why I'm blogging. It started out as a way to track my life "off the grid" if you will. I'm also learning that it's a way for me to organize my thoughts and gain a bit of self-discipline.

Following that theme, this year I want to focus even more on self-discipline: mind, body and spirit! None of the things on my list are new to my lifestyle, but I want to officially spend a month to focus on them. Hopefully by the end of 2011 I'll have many more healthy habits to add to my thankful list!

December - No drinking. I don't do it very often so a month should be fine, but I've decided that I really don't like how I feel when I drink so out it goes.
January - Un-cluttering my Apartment. I want to have an apartment than anyone can walk into at any moment and have it be neat and clean. At the moment, I have way too much stuff.
February - Meditation. I meditate sporadically at best, but I really see the value in it and feel calmer after doing it. Plus it's really hard - talk about self-discipline!
March - Eating Well. It's hard to find good fruits/veggies this time of year. I'll try by focusing on the foods that make me feel grounded and on actually making food instead of any take-out.
April - Exercising. I run and do yoga, but I want to practice with a greater regularity than I am right now.
May - Random Acts of Kindness. I like the pay it forward idea - this might require more thought then the other me-centered months but I think it'll be worth it!
June - Directed Acts of Kindness. Same concept, but this will be for people that I know and love.
July - Vegan. I know it's a strict diet, but I think when done correctly it's one of the healthiest diets around.
August - Traveling. I don't even care where, but I want to go somewhere I've never been with people I don't know - at least not yet!
September - Raising money for Breast Cancer. Hopefully my mom will be in the clear by then :)
October - Raising money for Lupus.
November - Reflecting. Just seeing how everything in the year has gone and spending more time on a previous months focus in case I need to. Also setting/readjusting my goals.

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell ~Buddha

I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace. ~Dalai Lama