I resolve

...to be a good friend, to care for myself and for those I love

...to do something creative every day, whether it is writing or drawing or sewing or baking or making chutney, or whatever else comes along

...to be patient with myself and others

...to eat healthily and spend time outdoors regularly, and to have solitude and company, each in good measure, when I need them

...to keep moving along my own path

...to do what is necessary, and remember that pleasure is also a necessity

...to remember I am not responsible for everyone else's feelings

...and to follow my bliss.

It's amazing to realise, writing these things down, how quickly the self-censoring inner voice starts up, expressing shock and misgiving about such a self-indulgent, self-absorbed collection of new year's resolutions.  Why, almost all of them are about me! 

Begone, inner critic!  I am what I am, and I too have the right to be happy.

I am a single woman with no children and no dependents.  I'm an introvert, yes, but I don't live in a vacuum, nor do I want to.  I have a lot of love to give, and I can choose to whom to give it; and I do choose, and I do give.  But the best way I can give that love actively and usefully, the best way I can be a good friend to others, is if I am in good shape myself, mentally, emotionally and physically.  So this list, designed to help me remember to do what hakes me happiest, is not self-absorption but self-acceptance. 

I hope these resolutions will be moderately keep-able.