Earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes can occur everywhere. There are no annual plans or resolutions made by the Ocean.
We, on the other hand, feel so good when we have filed our resolutions, published our goals, activated our investment plans, built another bridge, another monument. Weight gained or lost, check. Money made and invested, check. House and children organized, checked.
We actually have so few things we can control.
Control seems to make us happy.
I love watching No Reservations, Chef Anthony Bourdeain's television show where he travels all over the world and eats whatever people eat, in their homes, on the streets, in neighborhood restaurants that do not need reservations. He's trying to gauge what people actually do with the food they grow. And he is mostly happy with the finds.
I wonder, could we travel through our lives and just be who we are, do what we do, and live mostly content with who we are, where we are, how we are?
Couldn't we just Be?
38 comments:
I would love to be brave enough to have spontaneity as my resolution.
Wonderful sentiments and suggestions! "Just be ..." Ahhhh.
To survive the ocean, one has to let go and just be and surrender without any reservation or control. I think life is about surrendering to God's will, because if we think about life we'll realise that we don't have any control, over anything.
Really thoughtful and wonderful post Rosaria. Thank you.
That is how I live my life. I love spontaneity, but I also love it within the parameters of my routine. I'm sort of like a Border Collie that way. Resolutions are just made to be broken. :-)
Happy New Year to you and your family!
Cheers,
Jo
I eat at restaurants that don't require reservations all the time! lol I wish I could just "be," but my doctor doesn't agree, the witch! lol
It would certainly be nice, Rosaria, if we didn't have to put on pretenses, if we could just be ourselves, accept others at face value, not feel we must keep up with the Jones or the Smiths or the Garcias or whomever! I think, as I age, I'm better at that but it took a lot of living to arrive at this stage!
You are a deep thinker, Rosaria! Your posts amaze me sometimes and...yes! I have always thought that I hate resolutions too...but I recognize a need to do better and change bad habits so gotta start somewhere. The new year just feels like a clean slate I am looking for. It's a time for renewal and helping myself restart.
Cheers to you out in the great North West for a HappyNew Year!
oooo, i'd love to try to live like that, but that control thing... yet when you describe the ocean in such a profound way, it is the ultimate truth, isn't it.
Thirty years ago I made a resolution that I have kept all these years: not to make resolutions anymore.
I guess I have always felt I was a work in progress and in no way finished. Resoulutions for me are a nudge to do better, to recognize my failings. Wish I could just go with the flow.
Good that you can. Maybe someday I will too.
Oh this is such a wonderful post!
Thank you.
Think that by now, Rosaria, I am already 'set'. Though I thoroughly agree with the sentiments.
I have tried many times thoughout my life to change things about myself that I thought mattered to others, but they were all 'surface'. The day I said 'Take me as I am, or be gone'was the day I began to feel 'good in my skin'.
As always, a thought provoking post.
I have had periods/adventures in my life that swooped me out of my reality and I was able to "be". One of those occasions was a trip to Canada's Arctic. No plans. No identifiers (make up, fancy clothing), just each day, nature and possibilities. I marvelled at how peaceful I felt and have tried my best hold onto some of that. I admit though sometimes health issues or circumstances require us to make a change and it has to start somewhere - often with us resolving to do it.
Your description of the ocean resonated with me; in our deepest parts of ourselves I think we recognise that there is a life force greater than ourselves in the driver's seat. Maybe we just need to learn to listen.
I think yes. It's the way I have tried to live.
I think that may be the ultimate "goal."
I have only one goal--to simplify. Maybe that's a sort of resolution, especially at the beginning of every year. Yet, I find it to be an ongoing drive...simplify, get rid of things...does that lead toward just Being? I don't know...would be nice, though, if that would happen after getting simplified enough...
My resolution is to be accepting of last year's experiences and take time in this new year to reflect on the past and allow myself to welcome in the new...
I love Anthony Bourdain, and I love this post. Thank you for the sentiment, and for expressing it so beautifully (we can learn so much from the Ocean). Happy New Year!
I think there is a need for some "checks and balances" in life. I like the new year because it helps me to focus on things I need to change to make myself happier, be a better person..I think that when we try to change to make others happier and try to live up to their expectations is when trouble begins! We can't control much in life, because it has a way of slapping you in the face to wake you up...but we can have peace when we understand where to find it. Everyone is different in that respect. Very thoughtful post Rosaria!
Hi Rosaria .. love these analogies .. the ocean just does.
I think I agree life would be easier .. I would love to be without constraints ..
Have a wonderful year ahead .. Hilary
I'm sure we would all be much happier if we could, Rosaria. Happy New Year to you.
Well, that's very interesting:
[As] we travel through our lives and just be who we are, do what we do, and live mostly content with who we are, where we are, how we are?
I'm sure Bear will agree with that, once he's finished hibernating. I'll make sure to draw that to his attention. I think he would call it a very ursine approach to life.
Happy new Year from both of us.
That's a difficult question for me to answer.
It's one I think about from time to time.... freedom.
I think the only aspect we can really control is ourselves, but we don't spend enough time trying to learn how to do that and often spend alot of time trying to control others.
Food for thought! I feel like I haven't had time to think up the usual NY resolutions, nor even to indulge in post mortems of the Old Year... and it actually feels just fine!!
wishing you a wonderful 2011!!
This is really wonderful, Rosaria. I often think of a deer when I want to meditate on not trying to accomplish something more than BEing. Now I will think of the ocean too.
The photo is beautiful, and I picture the photographer down on her knees, them getting wet, and being immersed in the moment. This is a sweet way for me to begin the day. Thank you.
if I have any resolution this year (I have not written any down), it is exactly that....just to be.
Oh, I love that idea. I am trying to be just who I am. Not easy sometimes.
That was a thought-provoking post! And I agree.
Just wanted to drop by and wish you a wonderful 2011. May you have health and happiness all through the year.
Blow a kiss to the Pacific Ocean for me.
yes. it may take some conditioning. some more than others but yes, Being, can be accomplished.
great post!
Insofar as I make resolutions, it's only to try and make more time to spend doing all the different things that I want to do. I quite like the (increasingly common, at least in the blogs I read!) approach of picking a word to define how you'd like your year to be.
oh i so resonate with this...like water over rocks...
Yes, but think of how much the ocean could accomplish if it set goals and focused on achieving them!
Yeah, I'm not setting resolutions, but I do have a list of large and small things I want to accomplish. No pressure to achieve, but if the opportunity presents itself, I will strike!
You address so many real questions in this one post, Rosaria. If we could all be this self aware, looking at our own lives a little more detailed, perhaps we could make some real headway in the world. But first we have to want to.
xo
erin
I was a child when I learned the importance of living in the moment - to just be. It's a hard place to live, however, things just get in the way.
To just be. Yes!
There are certainly things we can't control. I'm getting better at not fretting over such things. I think that is part of just BEING.
Well said, Rosaria. And I hope you also have a wonderful year!!
just realized that life is so great
Nice! You said it all, well done
I found your blog recently and am going back to read some older posts. I love this one for two reasons. One, Anthony Bourdain. Two, just "be." I tried to say the same thing in a post about goals, but didn't speak nearly as clearly as you do here.
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