“Since my house burnt down,
I now own a better view
Of the rising moon.”
~ Basho
I made one New Year’s resolution for 2010 and that was to avoid putting on all the weight that I’d manage to lose in 2009. It was mainly successful – although I’m currently sporting a post-Christmas tummy, this seems to be a popular look at this time of year. 
This year’s resolutions are a tad more complicated (ironically 
).
2010 was the year that, after having hung around the edges of various groups for a few years, having ‘swept the grasses’ as the Zen Masters used to say, having spent a great deal of time humming and hawing, I fell in love with Buddhism. This has had a profound effect on me. This is the year that I really embrace that and allow my Buddhist practice to transform my life.
It’s also a year for re-evaluation. I’m sure I’m not the only one who often feels trapped by this modern life, full of things, of ever obtaining new things, things that need to be maintained, often by buying other things. I’ve dubbed 2011, ‘The Year of Living Simply’ and I’m committed to achieving that. What this means in practice, I’m still working out, but on Sunday night Sanna and I made a start by going through the first of our storage spaces, identifying what should be eBayed, what should be charity-shopped, what should be binned. Being as ruthless as possible.
Next we go through all of our books, DVDs. Everything. Every single item will be given a cold, hard look: What is this for? Why do we have it? Do we really want to keep it? How much did it cost to buy? How many hours will I have worked to pay for that (and any potential credit card interest on it)? How would I rather have spent that time?
I’ve been reading the book, ‘The Joy of Less’ in which Francine Jay writes..
“It’s no picnic to get up every morning and drag ourselves to jobs we don’t like, to pay for stuff we may no longer have, use, or even want”
Hear, hear sister!
I predict a year of big changes in our household.
Watch this space. It should become less cluttered.
