Intentions and Resolutions

I learn so much from people at meetings. A month or so ago we were talking about intentions and a woman said she found the results of her intentions in her crisper bin. We all burst out laughing because we ALL know that drawer in the fridge – the one with exotic vegetables; celery root, pounds of kale and mustard greens, varieties of eggplants large and small, wizened mushrooms and fungus, as well as the traditional salad makings and snacking carrots. We buy them in a passion for healthy eating, imagine preparing new dishes and tasting new flavors. We get them all at once not realizing that there is no possible way to consume them all before they become limp and pale, shadows of their previous snappy and robust selves. The worst case is they all get purchased and put away and then forgotten until they dissolve into a difficult to recognize soup or paste. We toss them out in shame, another good idea gone bad, another set of resolutions forgotten or ignored.

There is that moment of internal discord when I know I need to change and then try to implement a plan. If I strive for too much, too soon, without really feeling my way through the process I over promise myself and set the path to failure. Instead, maybe just one new vegetable a week, maybe just one small change per month; to try it on, see how it works, practice the commitment to the intention as much as the intention itself.

So this new year I will start with an empty clean crisper and take my time in filling it. Rather than a resolution to eat healthier I can bring the intention of one new vegetable a week into my life. Rather than making a promise I can have a goal. Looking for the compassionate way so that I build my self esteem rather than bash it. Here’s to you new crisper bin – may you make new friends this year.

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is a yoga instructor specializing in teaching yoga to people in recovery and the creator of the SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) certification program for yoga teachers. She is also the author of “Yoga and the Twelve Step Path”.

If you are a yoga teacher ready to take your calling and service to a new level you can find out more about Kyczy and the SOAR(tm) program at http://www.yogarecovery.com/SOAR_Certification.html