I Resolve to Continue to Work for Change (Plus a Few Other Things)

I'm keeping my list of New Year's Resolutions brief and to the point this year. (My to do list is long enough. I don't need a Resolutions list that's even longer!)

1. Continue to work for change.

    I will

• continue to use my voice to speak up when I witness injustice, whether it's on a large or small scale
• continue to work for political change
• continue to donate to projects and causes I believe in and to spread the world about these very worthy endeavours.

2. Look for ways to leave a smaller environmental footprint.

    I will

• purchase more reusable coffee cups so that I always have one handy when I stop for take-out coffee.
• become better informed about environmental issues so that I can make more substantial changes that will benefit the planet.

3. Find ways to balance my new-found call to activism with the needs of my family, the demands of my writing career, and my health goals.

     I will

• continue to implement the aspects of David Allen's Getting Things Done program that are most applicable to my life as a mom/writer/woman/activist.
• take time to re-energize myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually so that I don't become depleted and I have more to give. (I want to be more physically active and to continue to enjoy the more relaxed pace of life I enjoyed during the last half of 2006.)
• continue to seek support from friends who have similar life/health goals.

4. Continue to connect with people who are trying to make change so that we can support one another's efforts, both online and in real life.

How about you? Have you set some resolutions for 2007? Are they different from the types of resolutions you've set in years past? (My resolutions are definitely less "me-oriented." How about yours?)

Comments

[Jen]

I'll be a partner in crime/cheerleader on the change front!

Jen

[Ann D]

Your last point really rings true with me, Karrie. And I found that I started to feel really disconnected and depressed -- especially when I felt to feel like so much of what I was hearing about and reading about was really WRONG and no one I was talking to on a daily basis was noticing or caring. It's so great to be tapping into a community of people who are passionate about taking action to make a difference NOW. If, as many global warming experts are warning, the next 10 years are critical to stopping the damage humans have done to the planet, that's only 3650 days. We can't afford to waste a day being lulled into inertia by stories of celebrity meltdowns and other so-called hot news when the real hot news is global warming.

[Karrie]

My #1 resolution is to drive less. A move just off the subway line and a hectic schedule as a parent and student has found me spending way more time behind the wheel in the past year than I am comfortable with.

Somehow once I got used to driving again (after being car free for a few years) I quickly went from just running major errands in my car, to spending a couple of hours each day driving around. In Greater Boston at that. Insanity!

Kirsty raises an excellent point about becoming involved again and balancing civic life with everything else a parent to young children has on their plate. I find myself taking so much of what we have for granted living in a progressive zipcode that it is easy to ignore how crazy the world has become in the past couple of years.

[Ann D]

That is so cool, Kirsty! There are a lot of us with ideas perculating away in our heads....

Thanks for the book recommendation.

[Kirsty]

Hi Ann,
Great resolutions.

Mine this year include, to get back into action. I used to be active in civics in university life, and after both with actions and words. (I graduated in 2000) Now that I am a mom, I've been trying to find the time (and energy) to get back into things, and I've started re-reading alot of great books (My fav is the Political Economy of Communication by V. Mosco).(if you haven't read it, it's a must read!)

Mine are
* to give my toddler less. Not time, but stuff. We're pretty good usually, and are now going to educate the grandparents and aunts that he doesn't need every toy in the world, ever made.
* to pass on my politics a little more to my business (yorkregionbaby.com) and write articles about rasing babies in a disposable world and how we can work to counter this

these are just a few, I'll be posting a list on my site soonish...