Ann Hedly

My New Year’s Resolution is to have way more fun.

This means being more present to every moment and reaching for the fun potential wherever I find myself. Dishes need doing? Make it more fun. I like to slow down Thich Nhat Hanh-style and become mindful of all the pleasant sensations in the warm sudsy water. Heaps of laundry? I put on a podcast that I’ve been wanting hear and make it the best hour yet. Deciding where to go on a trip? Where is the place that feels the most expansive and exciting and joy-building?

This doesn’t mean that I’m going to turn into a party-girl. A good friend once said in describing me “Oh, you know Ann, she’s a homebody.” I’m probably going to keep being a homebody because that is fun for me, But I’ll have more FUN being a homebody. I’ll remember to put music on and dance around more. I’ll play with stickers and sparkly things because I love them. I’ll look for the fun in everyday moments and pull my joy out of every mundane aspect of life I can find.

There is something more to this, too. I deeply believe in play. I believe that play unlocks the key to our hearts and our gifts and shows us clearly how we are special and unique, and it helps us to know ourselves. I also feel that frankly, no one is playing enough. I hear friends talking about their “shoulds and musts” and I think, “Where is the play in the shoulds, where is the fun in the musts and what is life all about anyway?” Aren’t we allowed to have fun? Why do people choose NOT to have fun? I’m on a discovery mission here.

So my resolution and my special form of activism this year are to play more. WAY MORE. I’m going to play when I go to the bank and the grocery store. And when I pay my taxes and when I scoop up dog poop and mop the floor and deal with the paper clutter that I haven’t wanted to look at for a few years. I’m playing all the way through all of it. That’s my plan. WAY MORE FUN.

Meanwhile,

Here’s a reminder of good practices for 2018:

1. Say ‘I Love You’ out loud to yourself and others and animals and objects.

2. Meditate for at least 17 seconds as soon as you wake up and before you go to sleep. Keep going as long as it feels good.

3. Build a hearty list of gratitude to draw on when things feel hard; Head’s up, things will feel hard sometimes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I LOVE YOU!!