Ever since college and endless themed parties (which I am excellent at throwing), I’ve become a great fan of the theme. Every year around December/Jan I come up with a new theme for the new year. Themes in the past have included “Nowhere but Up,” “It’s Me,” and “The End of the World (as we know it.)” The theme usually represents an aspiration I have for the year, and is also just a way to be goofy about goals. Some themes have worked better than others. Last year (2013) the theme was “Enlightenment Now.” Am I Enlightened? Not all of the time. But having that theme prompted me to spend a lot of time studying, in retreat, and ultimately looking at the reality of impermanence. It also led me to examine my habitual activities and mind states. I’d say it was successful, and definitely an ongoing resolution.
On that subject, I’ve been reading a lot of anti-resolutions floating around cyber space. Personally, I like resolutions. Perhaps I am ever the optimist, but that’s my job. I know that motivations and aspirations lead to change, and being the creative type, I use them to have fun.
My take on 2014 New Year’s Resolutions: Trophy Life
My hashtag for the year Is TrophyLife. It’s my undercurrent, my theme, my party. The rose-tinted glasses. Living the Trophy Life takes practice. It takes deepening through repetition. It is like touching upon the moments of Enlightenment that are happening–even right now, even right now– and resting with them. This holding does not represent a grasping, nor does the resting represent a drifting into sleep, or unconsciousness. It represents an ongoing awareness. A constant remembering. A resolution to come back, and come back, and come back. Until the gaps become smaller and smaller, and soon everything is a reminder to wake up. Soon everything is a reminder to wake up. Wake up. So my life is a trophy; it is a precious, beautiful prize. And while there is plenty of celebration to be had living a prized life, there must also be the gratitude and dedication to use it well. The trophy life has everything to do with balance, radical, balance. Extreme balance takes practice, takes conditioning. I have identified three areas of conditioning that I need every day to keep my balance.
1. Body. The body needs to move. Every day. I have goals surrounding my flexibility, my strength, my fitness, and my diet. Common and simple practices I have to strengthen include things like stretching and drinking enough water. Cool goals include being able to do the splits and getting stronger. The body is not static. It needs something a little different every day as it changes. It becomes a delight to notice how it changes, responding in tiny ways that are almost invisible, at first.
2. Speech. I am a writer. I write every day because I love it and I need it. I have small goals as a writer and I have large goals as a writer. These need to be addressed daily. Morning pages (a daily stream-of-consciousness exercise) is a great way to get this muscle conditioned, and help me check my talk in every day, un-written life. Sometimes pages are an emotional rant that clears my head. Sometimes pages turn into a poem, or excerpts in the longer projects I have going. Sometimes (like today) they become blog posts.
3. Mind. This can mean reading and study, but first and foremost, this means a daily sitting meditation practice. There is just no substitute for it. My teacher Sakyong Mipam Rimpoche gives this simple teaching. “Every day the body needs movement and the mind needs stillness.” A stable mind is the fertile soil out of which genius can manifest and grow.
