Per the Subject Line - New Year, New Ewe...?
SORRY NOT SORRY!
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Today, we talked about New Year's Resolutions... or lack thereof... but before saying anything about that, here are some updates:
- Molly mentioned the possibility of doing an IHOP fundraiser dinner for charity. We'll need to talk a bit more about dates and what cause deserves our cash.
- It would appear that we're going to have a crafting meetup within our group! I was thinking that it would be really fun to have a name that somehow related to witchcraft, but I couldn't think of any off the top of my head. (HELP!)
New Year's Resolutions - several of us shared individual resolutions, some of those were kind of personal, so I didn't want to say too much about them here, but I did feel like it was valuable to share some of the strategies that people were using to help meet the goals that they had set:
A few people talked about making resolutions that were concrete, incremental, and achievable, as opposed to nebulous,
saltatory, and overly optimistic. We also pointed out that many of our resolutions revolve around cutting things out of our lives or forcing ourselves to do things that we don't want to do. Karen pointed out (and a lot of people liked the idea) that we can
add things that make us feel good to our lives. Resolving, for instance, to do something that brings you joy every day, even if it's only for a little while, is a positive thing. Someone else (Tabitha or Jessica? SORRY, I THINK IT CAME FROM THAT DIRECTION!) mentioned that it can be really positive to add something to your life if you're going to take something out. If you're going to say that you shouldn't be on social media as much, force yourself to read a book that you're going to enjoy! I actually saw something where they were encouraging people to drink wine rather than beer - I mean... maybe? I dunno.
We talked about holding ourselves accountable by sharing resolutions with others: "Hey! Ask me how much water I've had when you see me!" There's also a difference between accountability and beating yourself up - which can be exceptionally counterproductive.
Judy shared with us the idea of a
"Yes" year - (with restrictions of safety and legality.)
A lot of people had things to say about resolving to be more intentional in terms of interactions with family, friends, and "friends." Many of us have burning, burnt, and... inflammable bridges with people whom we love but are toxic to us as individuals. ...or people with whom we have history or shared genetics, but are toxic all the same. Anyway, we discussed different ways of interacting with them - writing rather than calling (thank you for the idea Tabitha!) because it gives you a chance to put your words together without being interrupted or put on the spot.
We also talked about the difference between fighting fire with fire and simply cutting people out or moderating our interactions to the point where they cannot hurt us. There is a lot to consider in most cases. And, familial interactions seldom ever take place in a proverbial vacuum. But, with some ingenuity and levelheadedness, we can (hopefully) find peace with ourselves and those with whom we interact.
At the end of the discussion, we decided that next time, we'll talk about what we want to try to accomplish within the group. Roger suggested something with feeding the homeless - something we've done in the past, but could definitely do more of and there are easy ways to do it if we don't marry ourselves to the IRC. We also talked about adopting local families. I am going to talk to the guidance at my school and see if there is any way that we can put something together for kids who are in need. I know we have some. Additionally, our group has a lot of contacts within political organizations. I doubt I need to tell anyone what kind of a year 2020 is in terms of that. (Also, one of the reasons we're not getting our tax exempt status as a church.)
Alright! I'll see you all soon, hopefully.
Much love,
Sean
