31st December, the end of another year. 2009. The time of reflection. Something is ending, something is beginning. It's like we are getting another chance, so we make resolutions, promises we never keep...
My 2009 resolution was Make More from Less and I was very concerned about human greed, exploitation and consumption. I entered 2009 full of optimism and faith into humanity, change and the upcoming dominance of Good. Unfortunately some events moved my focus a bit. The new experiences that influenced me significantly and shaped me forever.
I've said goodbye to one of the most important people in my life - the wisest, the most loving and the most beautiful woman I've known - my grandmother.
At the same time I faced my dad getting diagnosed cancer...so much suffering at the same time made my thoughts wander around the meaning of my life and things that are really important. Suddenly nothing else than my family mattered and things I used to be busy with, seemed so silly. I just definitively realized that life is fragile and while we chase the surrogates of it, we may lose people, things, moments that really matter. Suddenly Make More from Less got a new meaning for me: making more meaningful experiences and moments from the little time we have. I've kept on repeating in my head the last words my grandmother said to me: "It's not scary to die when you know you spend your life on making things happen and when you are surrounded by such fantastic people. So go out there, find out what matters most to you and make things happen"
And now when I am sitting here on 31st December, having my family around, hearing them laughing and looking at my grandmother's picture I think it's not about resolutions (those are rarely kept), but about defining what matters for you, your life and acting upon it. It is not so far away what I wrote precisely one year ago, there is just more meaning to it...It's still viable and we need to work more on Doing Meaningful Things to our lives, to our work, to the world.
Happy New Year to you all!
Don't make resolutions, just think about what matters to you and make it happen. It will not be easy but it will make us better in the end :)
