2011: REVOLUTION! (Amy)

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay invincible summer. --Albert Camus

-List-making is an issue for me.

-I apologize profusely for littering this blog entry with them so wildly.

-If I were a resolution maker, I would vow to rectify this in 2011.

-But I am not, so...

-The End.

(of this blog's first list)

--Amy, COFFEE blogger

I usually don’t do New Year’s resolutions—I like anti-resolutions. For example:

*I do NOT resolve to wake up early any Saturday in 2011.

*I do NOT resolve to not eat at least a little chocolate if it is ever presented to me at any point throughout Anno Domini 2011.

*I do NOT resolve to repress my need to silently cuss out other drivers who are clearly crazy and should never have been granted permission to operate a 5 ton machine of metal death in the first place, what the heck was the DMV thinking?!.

You know. Things like that, stuff I know I can manage with little to no effort on my part.

But I’m going to revolt this year, and attack 2011 a tad different—I’m making New Year’s reVolutions. Because things did not get off to a good start for us for 2011 at my house, friends. I can’t go into more explanation than that at the moment, but just know: 2011 did not get off to a good start. For one thing, 1.1.11 was a dreary, dark, and rainy day in the metro Atlanta area, and I generally disagree with dreary and dark rainy days anyway, even if they do have a cool date that, when added up, comes out to the numerical value of 4, a very mystical number. This 1.1.11 (mystical number 4) rain was followed by some Discouraging News. Discouraging News and dreary, dark, rainy days never, ever go well together, in my experience. But also (and mostly), I just really like the idea of being a revolutionary. The very idea makes me feel plucky and outrageous, two areas I wish I were stronger in.

1.2.11 was better, and this may be due to the fact 1+2+1+1=5, and 5 is my number (I have no idea why; I just think good stuff happens to me in 5's). But also: the sun came out, and sun always clears out my brain fuzz. And because, while driving around the happier/sunnier metro Atlanta area, I silently and firmly made the decision to consciously make different decisions whenever confronted with more brain blasting news, at any point throughout 2011. I will say things to myself like:

...“Well, I’m just going to make the decision NOT to freak out about this.”

...And “I’ll just make the decision to put one foot in front of the other one and keep going, no matter what.”

...And “The amount we're being charged on this ridiculously priced bill isn’t real. I’m going to decide this bill is fake. Because the only thing that is real is love. When I write out the check for this stupid bill, I'm going to write that in the memo line instead of the account number, because people who send outrageous bills like this should know that: they are fake, and Love is real.”

...And “I’m making the decision to not let anything defeat me—I will kick Life right in its frickin’ gonads if it even tries to LOOK at me weird this year. Do you hear me, Life 2011 A.D.? Right in your frickin’ gonads!”

I am revolting against you, 2011! Revolution!

I try not to be very overly dramatic and intense with myself too often, but some days are simply more successful than others.

So! A brief update on my COFFEE goals since my last update and over our break:

i. I ate crap.

ii. I did not exercise.

iii. I was intensely slothful. Like, if actual sloths had witnessed my slothiness, they would have had developed severe self-esteem complexes, wondering how someone who is not an actual sloth could be so much better at being a sloth than actual sloths who have documented biological drives toward extreme slothiness.

iv. I’m okay with all of the above.

Because it’s January, everybody! It’s 2011! And—if the Mayans were correct—we only have about one more year of Life giving us weird looks and fun opportunities to kick Its gonads! So be free and throw off your yokes of fear and restraint! Is what I say. Revolt, and do not pause to consider what judgments others may be flinging your way in the process; all they need to worry about is ducking fast enough so your flung off yokes don't smack them on their stupid, judge-y heads.

So my big January reVolution this year is to simplify. I will throw off my fear/self-restraint yokes by simplifying. Most everything. I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet or not, but conciseness is not my forte. However, I know I can simplify everything that does not involve writing down words/thoughts/ideas. Essentially what I need around here is some equanimity—less drama, more acceptance; less complicity, more revolution. So over the next several weeks, I will be:

1-focusing on not panicking when things appear to be off track.

2-not relaxing when things appear to be going smoothly.

3-cultivating awareness and presence.

4-not focusing so hard on the outcome.

5-paying more attention to the process.

6a-developing more sympathy for myself and others

6b-unless, of course, these “others” are clearly psychotic people in cars sharing the roads with me who obviously cheated their way into possession of a driver’s license, and then I will be happily perfecting my inner, repressed road rage angry person impression.

(Except for reVolution 6b, I actually did not come up with these myself—I completely ripped them off from this guy):

Also, I’ve picked a 5K to run/train for. If I have a specific, must-do-this-by-this-date-and-in-this-time-frame goal, I’m much more likely to complete it. And I know if I spend money to enter this race (money: something we’re keeping a hot, close eye on these days at my house and not spending flippantly), I’m much more likely to complete it. When researching a 5/10K run to complete/train for, I wanted to do something that is good for the world (I’ve settled on helping to provide clean, safe drinking water to those without access) and I needed a Spring/early Summer date (April 30) because I’m a wimp who doesn’t do Arctic cold or Sub-tropic heat, and I'm also host to a whiny inner slacker who's already wimpering that she needs lots of extra time padding in her training schedule in case she may want to slack off a week here and there.

So. Goals for my COFFEE project over the next several weeks:

I.Equinamity

II.Revolution

III.Simplicity

IV. Register for WaterfortheWorld Run

V. Get my butt in gear

VI. Not necessarily in that order.

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2011 bring glad tidings of great joy (and successful revolutions)!