In Word and Deed

In 2015 I focused on three words to guide my decisions and actions: Happy, Healthy, Helpful.  I enjoyed exquisite health this year and moved into greater health regarding my eating.  Today I don’t eat sugar, haven’t for 9 weeks without a day off.  Since I can’t eat sugar in moderation, having none is really the best route for me, and it feels like this has now become a habit. Although I haven’t lost much weight, I have reached a mental clarity that I find exhilarating,  and a level of joyful energy flows through me more often than not. 

I wouldn’t have been able to ride this wave of health without being happy, which is why I put that word first.  For years my happiness has depended on my weight and body size, and that’s a losing proposition.  This year, instead of waiting for results that I thought would make me happy, I went right to the happiness by focusing on the aspects of my life that are working well and being much more consciously appreciative and grateful as a discipline.

How helpful I was this year is harder to measure.  I showed up for work wholeheartedly,  attended my recovery meetings, and sponsored women, whom I speak to weekly. I prayed to be gracious when people came to our home, and now that we’re moving, I’m being helpful in the preparation and facilitation of that process.  

Could I be more helpful? Probably, so I’ll continue the weekly work of self-examination and conversation with a sponsor and the monthly check on my spiritual fitness with my spiritual director because both of those guides help me stay humble, which I suspect is the foundation for being truly helpful.

This coming year, I’d like to be Calm, Clear, and Kind.  

What will your guiding words be next year?