I Resolve

I dislike the cliche' of setting New Year's resolutions so I vowed several years ago not to do it again. This doesn't mean that I don't believe in self examination and setting goals. I just believe that it shouldn't happen once a year and then be forgotten by February. So here I am with a perfectly legitimate recognition that there some things about my behavior that need work and it happens that these realizations were brought on by the introspection that comes from the closing of an old year and the beginning of a new one (the definition of a New Years' resolution, I believe). I've been taking inventory for the past several days and listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and I've come to the conclusion that the Lord has been telling what I need to do for weeks through my sweet hubby. As I thought about it Monte, who seldom criticizes me (basically because I respond poorly to it), has been giving me the same sage advice with increasing frequency: "Smile"

Today I resolve to smile more.

Okay, to quote John Bytheway "Oh my pitiful goal!" What kind of a goal is it to simply smile? Well, setting measurable and obtainable goals for other people is what I do for a living and I'd like to discuss just what might be entailed in seeing that I smile instead of frown.

Objective 1: In order to get a sincere smile on my face more often I am going to have to pay closer attention to my health. I excuse the scowl on my face by recognizing that my body hurts a great deal of the time so (poker face that I'm not) it shows on my face. Hmm, I'll bet a lot of this pain can be dealt with by eating healthy foods, getting more exercize (raising endorphins), and seeing the doctor regularly and then doing what he/she tells me to do.

Objective 2: My friends and family make me smile. I can and will make better connections with them. I'm a recluse. I use the excuse of my busy life to justify how often I pull away from people. Then I'm sad and lonely when I feel invisible, but I've created the situation. I can and will spend time with friends, get out of my comfort zone, follow through when I feel prompted to call someone. I can and will contact my mothers and father and brothers and sisters and children more and let them know that I love them and think about them often. (Don't think too hard about the fact that I put mothers -plural- I will explain later.) I also want to get to know more about my ancestry. These people who are the root and soil of who I am. I've been blessed in recent years with more information about them and a desire to investigate. Doing that will put a smile on my face.

Objective 3: My gifts from God make me smile. I love my work. I feel that I'm good at it and it is incredibly rewarding to me. This is a gift from God. The skills I have with children who hurt come directly from God and this is my true calling. I take a paycheck home because the school district pays people to do what I do, but I'd do it without being paid (don't tell District 11). Most of the people I work with are incredibly loving dedicated people. This is also a Gift from God. Another gift from God that is mine is my creativity. I'm descended from some true artists. My father and brother are talented artists. I'm not a true artist, just creative, but creativity is the power of God. What is it that the Saviour did? He created the earth and all that is in it. My creativity is a miniscule portion of that great power and it puts a smile on my face. I'm going to respect and nurture that creativity in all the forms that it takes.

Objective 4: I can unpack, unload, and destress. I noticed something wonderful about my son and his wife. They smile and laugh a lot. They don't seem to take themselve too seriously. I have always taken myself way too seriously, and I'm a funny person - especially when I'm not trying to be. I can let go and let God much more than I do.

Objective 5: My relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Saviour make me smile. I can open the door for the Saviour by being a better Seminary teacher, studying the scriptures for myself as much as to prepare a lesson. I need to spend more time on my knees talking to my loving Father in Heaven. I need to spend more time listening to the promptings of the Spirit. I feel peace when I take the time to read the articles in the Ensign and the New Era, when I attend church meetings, listen to the counsel of the local church leaders, and when I do as the prophets have asked. These are things that intertwine themselves with all of the other objectives I've written about. These will be the actions that make all the others possible.

"My Soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation." Psalms 35:9

I wish for all my friends and family a happy, healthy, and prosperous year, but most of all I wish for you to smile!