It’s just another day.  Yet, there is such a tremendous amount of psychological energy packed into this January 1 date. We’re suddenly inspired, renewed, hopeful. Most of us review what we have and have not accomplished in the last 365 days.  Many of us vow that we are going to take action on our guilt-producing shoulds.  I should go to the gym; I should lose weight; I should spend more time with my family.

It’s just another day! Quit shoulding on yourself.  (Someone else said that first years ago, so I’ll call it an anonymous quote.)

My only New Year’s resolution is is to turn my guilt into focused energy that produces positive, happy thinking and events.  I’m so DONE with feeling guilty all the time, aren’t you?  At least I think that is what you would call it when you beat yourself up inside your mind because you ate what you wanted, did what you had to, and then didn’t feel like cramming anything else into your day and relaxed for awhile. We somehow end up imperfect by someone elses standards.

Usually the guilt and worry is about our weight.  New Years resolutions to lose weight get us going…for a couple months anyway.  It’s a great time of the year for gyms and weight loss programs to boost their membership sales.

Yes, I know.  Being overweight is unhealthy – and so is being too skinny (bulemia, anorexia, drug use), and so are torn ligaments and muscles from working out too much.  Oh, and I can’t skip hip, knee or shoulder replacements from the wear and tear of workouts.  So maybe my being chubby will turn out healthy for me. If I were Oprah Winfrey and people were focusing on my weight, I’d have to speak up and say, “What the heck business is it of yours how much I weigh?  It’s MY body, so it is NONE of your business. I thought I was here because I am good at what I DO.” But she feels guilty (as I said, I guess that is what you would call it) and gave in to being imperfect by someone else’s standards, working on so many diet and exercise plans. There are millions of women just like her, but they are every size, shape and age.  Millions of men, also. Wishing they had those six pack stomachs. (I have a six pack stomach; definitely six packs of something. One of my brothers claims his “pot belly” is a gas tank for a sex machine.)

So now I feel guilty because I am not making any resolution to lose weight. I’m not going to vow to work out either. I’m very conscious of what I eat…every sweet, gluten-free bit of it.  I’m just going to work on being happy to have friends, joyful to be able to go places and do things, and forget about all these shoulds.  I’m working on what makes me feel happy to work on.  The last time I did that, I lost a lot of weight.  I won’t feel guilty tonight either because I am not posting a huge Astroblog column as I usually do.  I’m going to go vegetate on the couch while I watch a movie instead. Tomorrow I’ll finish my New Year’s predictions for the year ahead.  That is making me very happy.

Here’s a bit of a tickler:  Spirit refers to 2010 as “The Year of Revolution.” That doesn’t necessarily indicate a total revolt…but my movie is starting so I’ll finish tomorrow.

Wishing you the best of everything, Lindy Baker

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