The new year is a time for reflection

By: 
Steve Lyon
Remember that line in crooner
Frank Sinatra’s version of the
song,“My Way?”
“Regrets, I’ve had a few...” Well, substitute
the word New Year’s resolutions.
I’ve had a few of those as well.
I’m not opposed to resolutions.
I like the idea of
coming up with some goals
or challenges for the new
year within reason.
I’m no life coach or motivational
speaker, but taking
the time to reflect on where
you have been in the past
year and where you are going
is a worthwhile exercise.
It’s better than being
stuck in a stultifying state
of catatonic complacency.
We should all be striving for
the big prizes in life that are
out there. What can you make happen
in 2020?
Certainly, when it comes to resolutions
concerning lifestyle changes, your
health is paramount over mere material
things. It always tops my list. Without
your health, as they say, what have you
got? Really, not much. It’s a timeworn
adage that is so true.
I just went 12 rounds with a case of
strep throat that snuck up on me and got
me in a headlock. So I speak from recent
experience when I say that nothing
means much when you are
hacking, wheezing, sniffling
and feeling like you just got
run over by a train.
I’m thankful for the antibiotics
that knocked down
the strep bacteria. If I were
living in the frontier days
before the advent of modern
medicine, I might have been
a goner. He didn’t make it to
age 60. Poor fellow caught a
bug and that was it.
My list of resolutions
starts with a weight loss goal
of 20 pounds. I hit the stationary
bike, weights and treadmill five
nights a week at Body Shop in Weiser,
but the pounds have been so slow to
melt off, if indeed that is what they do.
I just need to work on smaller food
portions and cut out a few more calories.
I hate the regimented food choices
that a diet brings.
I’m actually getting pretty good at
skipping the sweet stuff, although I
have never met a piece of banana cream
pie or berry cobbler with a dollop of
whipped cream on top that I didn’t like.
When you are out covering the many
events that go on in the community, you
run into your share of food temptations.
Anymore, I back away slowly from the
dessert table.
Now more than ever, kindness is a
great resolution to embrace, and I plan
to seek out more opportunities to replace
a scowl with a smile. We need
more kindness in life.
The first thing is to tune out the divisive
and corrosive politics of our modern
age. It’s difficult, I know with the internet
and the 24/7 nature of news these
days. It’s easy to be critical of others and
even cynical.
Find a way to help others in the new
year. Maybe it’s a compliment out of the
blue or sharing a moment of your time
to share. Being kind doesn’t cost a dime.
Steve Lyon is the editor of the Weiser
Signal American. Contact him at

Category:

Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

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