"What are your resolutions, momma?" she asked. "Sweet One, I long ago stopped making promises to change. I try my best every single day and if I fall down then I get up and try again and don't beat myself up or add stress on one day to become someone completely different."
"How about you," I asked White Dog. She laughed. "Momma you learned your ways from me! Doing what you can and then moving on is the White Dog way of approaching life. Oh, and never forgetting to be grateful or compassionate...those are important, too!"
We called in the rest of The White Dog Army and asked each of them about making resolutions. To a pack member the White Ones agreed that staying true to yourself was the only promise you need. "I am never going to be a hummingbird," Nuka said. "I can keep trying to change myself into one or I can just enjoy being the most wonderful White Dog possible."
But what about bad habits, I pushed, shouldn't we be firm about resolving to change them? Again, The WDA pointed out the silliness of picking a day and then quitting after a few weeks when the pressure makes you stumble. "Take your time. Have a plan. Don't change because the calendar does." YoYoMa replied. "When the time is right you will be confident and will be strong enough to take the many small steps necessary to succeed in changing," Puff shared. "Look at how I conquered eating stuffies til I puked." "True but you are so gross," WD added.
"This weekend is not about making a list of things that are bad or being unhappy with who you are," WD continued. "The New Year is a good time to take stock of what was and what you want it to be. It is a time of reflection and hope. Read this piece we found and think about what it is saying. It is not about resolutions. It is about Believing and that is truly the key to change. There is much power in these words that will carry you into the New Year on wings of wonder."
