Let’s lighten up in 2009

So the silly snow’s turned to sticky gunk, the tinsel’s lost its sparkle and the only sweets left in the tin are toffees, which can only mean we’re in the No-Man’s Land of Yule, the week between Christmas and new year.

This is the week I should take stock of my life and think about what my new-year resolutions should be, but do you know what? I’m just not doing it this year . . .

The last year’s been quite long and hard enough, and the last thing I want now are a load of self-imposed and nearly always doomed attempts at denying myself something or other.  

Why do we do it to ourselves? It might sound like the perfect time to re-evaluate and make lifestyle changes, but think about it: it’s a bit like going shopping when you’re hungry and everybody knows what a bad idea that is.

I mean you’d have to be Mother Teresa (rest her soul) to be able to look at your life, right in the middle of the festive binge and not find a million things that need changing. I wonder how different your list of resolutions would be if you had to decide on them at a less hedonistic time of year?

See, I think we like nothing better than to beat ourselves up. We love a good dose of guilt and thrive on setting ourselves impossible tasks we have little chance of achieving. Then we spend the rest of the year feeling worthless and guilty that we didn’t quite make it out of the comfort-zone again this year. 

So why don’t we just give ourselves a break? Let’s just stop worrying about the things we should be doing, the things we shouldn’t be doing and all those changes we should be making in our lives, and get on with living them, enjoying them and thanking God for all we have in them.

It’s so easy to get bogged down with negatives, punishing ourselves for trivialities . . . we ate too much . . . we drank too much . . . we swore too much . . . we had uncharitable thoughts about the in-laws . . ! 

Let’s break with tradition this year and dedicate all the time we currently waste on berating ourselves and feeling guilty to reminding ourselves how great we are, how lucky we are to be us. 

And remember, it’s all those imperfections, those unique and delicious flaws, our physical and emotional foibles that make each of us exactly who we are. 

After the year we’ve all had, a spell in the comfort zone could be just what the doctor ordered. After all, what’s the point in having a comfort zone at all if we don’t occasionally get to wallow in it?

So to all readers, but most especially to the fat ones, the drunken ones and all those who’ll miss this last paragraph because they’re out the back having a smoke – do whatever you have to do to have a happy new year!