Resolutions than won’t see dissolution

It is that time of the year when resolution lists show up more on blogs and on facebook than they do on personal diaries. I do not know what is it about the new year that makes people start making promises to themselves that they seldom keep. Even if you do not want to make a list of resolutions, peer pressure or a hike in your blood sugar levels force you to join the rat race. It might be due to the guilt-high that follows the sugar-high, gorging on all those cookies in the name of Christmas and other festivities. Although to be fair, any good intention however small, should be commended, and since one needs some push to start, let the timing of the new year provide that auspicious push.

I have decided not to make those shallow resolutions I make every year that I have no intention to follow. Resolutions like losing weight, cooking more, not snapping at my mother when she diplomatically asks me to move back to India, not panicking at the thought of turning old thirty, not counting grey hairs in front of the mirror every morning, not stalking people on facebook, and trying to be a good girl are the lamest resolutions I promised myself over the years, thanks to all the social pressure. Trust me, they do not work. By Indian republic day, you have gorged on those laddoos, weight watching be darned. By Valentine’s day, you have consumed thousands of calories in the name of love. By March, celebrating Holi ensured you ate more junk. So no lame promises to myself that will soon not see the light of the day. However, I do want to bring changes in my attitude and actions that will have a lasting impact in my life, not just for this year, but for the rest of the years I live.

More Recycling

I am consciously beginning to use no more than the resources I need, and to recycle whatever I can. Guests I am expecting for dinner will eat in dinner plates and not in plastic plates using plastic cutlery. I feel something prick me somewhere deep in my guilt bone every time the lady at the grocery store gives me 8 plastic bags full of my weekly grocery. So I am beginning to use the shabby not so great looking but highly functional grocery bags (also called “bajarer tholi” or “bazaar ki thaili”) someone got me from India. It is a different story that every time I look at those “tholis”, I am reminded of a potbellied and bespectacled Bengali uncle moving slowly, following his paunch and nose, smelling and sniffing every variety of fish, inspecting vegetables, and putting it inside the rarely washed grocery bags reeking of the smell of fish. Childhood associations, you see. I am using the white side of the printed papers I no longer need to do calculations, write grocery lists, and play tic-tac-toe. I don’t use the printer that often, but read the scientific papers from the big screen in the lab. I have “gone paperless” for my bank statements and car insurance bills. Anything else you suggest?

More of the print and the media

I have resolved to read more. I have resolved to watch more movies. And, I have resolved to write a review, even a short one, every time I read a book or watch a movie worth recommending. I have read so less and seen so few movies that I need to make a start somewhere.

Living minimalistic

I am culling down the clutter in my room, and in my life. There are too many things I have that I do not need. My bathroom vanity will vouch for that. Although I am not infamous for delaying trips in the morning because I spend too much time in the bathroom wearing makeup, I still have too much stuff that I will not need. Similarly, I have too many “superficial contacts” in my life, people who should not really matter to me, but people whose opinions immensely matters at the subconscious level. Sometimes, I get carried away with what others think I should do, but it is my life, and what I choose to do with it is my business.

Making the sunshine blog more interactive

Till date, I have posted very few links and videos. Most of my posts are about what is happening in my own selfish world, and how I feel about things. Henceforth, I will post whatever I read and find interesting, asking you for your opinions (please provide your feedback). Further, if you read a good book, watched a good movie, came across an interesting blog, or went to a good place, please mention that to me in my blog or in my mailbox. I want to know more of what the world does, what it reads, what it sees, and how it revolves.

Doing something better to improve myself everyday

No matter how clichéd it sounds, this is what I will hope to do. Even if it means little, I will try to do at least one thing right every day. That might be as insignificant as waking up early, not skipping breakfast, or not procrastinating that report the advisor wants until the last moment. That might also mean learning a few words every day, reading the news for a change, or skipping that ice cream I don’t need to eat. I have my fair share of a few small and big dreams for me, and if I hope to attain even a tenth of them, I need to embark on the journey sometime to be more disciplined.

sunshine