So far, I’ve spent 2013 CRUSHING IT with the Brita water pitcher I got for Christmas:
At this time last year, however, I had the loftier goal of being a more loving person, a goal I both managed to fail at (mostly) and achieve (sometimes). One thing I did to help me in that endeavor was sign up for The World Needs More Love Letters subscriber list and write uplifting letters to people who were struggling with the various curve balls life can sometimes throw: divorce, death, mean girls, work struggles, so on and so forth. But for the first letter-writing project of 2012, we wrote letters to ourselves detailing what we wanted to accomplish in the new year. Of course, I forgot all about the letter pretty much after I put it in the mailbox, and today I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my mail and found it. Dated 1/2/12, here is what it says:
Dear Sarah,
First, let me just clear the air: yes, this stationary is meant for a 12 year-old girl. But that’s what makes it AWESOME. That, and the fact it was super-cheap at Marshall’s.
So here I am at the beginning of a brand new year. The slate is wiped clean, and I am full of optimism. My main goal for 2012 is to love others. To focus on myself not quite as much and to let love fuel my interactions with strangers, my friends, and my family. To send cards out on birthdays. To send notes just to say that I’m thinking of them. To volunteer (hopefully with Amazing Love Ministries). I want 2012 to be a year of love.
I have other, less important goals as well:
-pay off remaining debt (and not to incur new debt)
-get some nicer and more grown-up stationary from Crain & Co. (or is it Crane & Co.?)
-get my passport
-bulk up my savings
–get a new couch and new dining room set and hang decorations I haven’t gotten around to hanging yet
Above all, I want to remind myself that no matter what happens this year, I AM LOVED. If I don’t believe it. I just need to look through old cards and notes and letters. Let’s do this, 2012.
-Sarah VB
Getting this letter from myself made my night, and it gave me back a little of the optimism I was missing when I rang in 2013. Most importantly, it served as a good reminder of what really counts in this life: love. Putting others first. Knowing that the world does not revolve around me. Knowing that, despite what I may be lacking, what I have been blessed with more than makes up for it. So I think for this year, I am going to renew my 2012 resolution to love more. To not be so self-absorbed. To be more empathetic.
Let’s do this, 2013.
