Find Your “Happy” this New Year

resolution

The Free Dictionary defines “resolution” as the state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.” 

So here we go.  It’s 2015. We are firm, baby! We start thinking about all the stuff we wanted to do in 2014 that we didn’t do, or tried to do, or need to do better. We’ll think about it for a couple days, a couple weeks, maybe even a couple months and before too long, our firm determination will start to look more like soft, silken tofu.

Honestly, I’ve given up on resolutions. Kind of.  There’s something about an ending that inspires a new beginning.  One year ends, another begins, and along with it comes the freshness of new hopes, dreams, plans.   I succumb a little each year; do you? But making plans, hoping, dreaming and deciding to take action is somehow different that making a resolution.

Why?  Resolutions break.  And when something’s broken, it’s hard to fix.  There’s something wrong.  It’s not good anymore. Toss it out. Give up. You get the idea.  But if you dream, you can keep on dreaming. If you hope, you can never lose hope. If you plan, you can change or rearrange your plans.  Nothing’s broken.  The world keeps turning. The ideas keep churning.  The fires keep burning. And life goes on.

But before I get too hope-y dreamy on you, I do want to point out that actions are what really helps move those hopes, dreams and plans to reality. Are your hopes, dreams and plans the right ones? Ask yourself why you want to_______ this year.  Is it to feel loved, accomplished, prosperous, productive?  Dig way down deep in your soul and understand the reasons behind your aspirations and then ask yourself if it’s truly worth pursuing or if there’s a better way to be fulfilled.

And ask yourself how you’ll feel in another year if you don’t  ________. What does your gut tell you?  What do you feel in your heart? Guts and hearts are pretty smart.  Listen to them. They might give you the motivation to keep taking actions or the wisdom to change direction.

What are my hope-y dreamy plans for 2015? First, I’m aspiring to do a better job posting to this blog and making some updates and improvements. The “why” is my need to share the vegan message and that you can be vegan AND gluten-free and live a full life. I’ve got to do this.  My heart and gut said so.

I’m also deciding to say “no” when something doesn’t make my heart happy and just makes me stressed.  That one sounds easy, but the “should” girl inside me can be persistent and lay a good guilt trip. Heart and gut – speak loudly on this one!

I want to be healthy.  Yeah, I’d really like to be skinny – I am not a skinny vegan.  But the only times I’ve ever been skinny were when I was anorexic my senior year in high school and when I was stressed beyond belief about 8 years ago. I don’t want to go back to either of those skinny me’s, not even for a smokin’ hot bod. So, I’ll keep learning about how food, lifestyle and environment affect me.  Do my best to make wise choices.  And share some healthy recipes along the way. And maybe I’ll lose 10 or 15 pounds. That would make my heart happy, but it’s happy even if I don’t lose a pound,  since health is a blessing and without it life can stink, big time.

And I want to promote this wonderful, compassionate vegan lifestyle.  Yes, there is such thing as a “vegan diet” aka, plant-based or plant strong diet.  But eating the diet a vegan eats and being a vegan are two very different things.  I am a vegan.  Starting out for health reasons, I’m now in it for the planet, the animals and because I can’t be any other way, knowing what I know.  Working to help more people join this journey and change the world makes my heart happy and feels absolutely right in my gut – despite the sadness I also feel, realizing how much our paradigm needs to change and change quickly if we want to be able to hope and dream about the future of our world and end the suffering of more than 10 billion sentient beings who will lose their lives year after year if we don’t take action.

My wish for you is to find your “happy”.  To do things that make you feel good, that feel right in your gut, joyful in your heart, and make a better world.

What are your hopes and dreams for the coming year? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Happy15

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3 Responses to Find Your “Happy” this New Year

  1. Marcy says:

    I am going on 64 years old and one thing I have learned is that it is better to be healthy than skinny. I have been on a diet since the third grade and I now know I was not meant to ever be skinny, so I just concentrate on being healthy. Eating meat haunts me, I just can’t enjoy eating something that had a brain and beating heart. As an aside, I looked for the Nopales tortillas in the Commerce City Kings and didn’t find them–will look at Green Valley Ranch next. We may have to go to an actual Mexican market. I can’t wait to try these–this will be my one resolution for 2015 if I am to have one. Happy New Year!

    • Janie says:

      I agree about being healthy Marcy. My dad always said that your health is the most important thing and as I get older, I realize that’s so true! I’ve been to most of the Mexican markets around Denver and my hubby even went on a mission to find nopales tortillas without luck and we’ve yet to find any online either. I know Nopaltilla sells them in California. Maybe if we ask, they’ll start carrying in Colorado!http://www.nopaltilla.com/contact.aspx

  2. Marcy says:

    Hi again, Janie. I did search both King Soopers in my neighborhood with no luck. I actually bought 80 of the Tortilla Nopales off Amazon. I got my first delivery of 40 yesterday. I am very pleased with them. Interestingly, they are made in North Carolina and shipped from a Mexican market there as well.

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