First Day of School

It is the first day of school here in New York today - our girl starts third grade at her amazing Brooklyn public school! As I was walking to an appointment yesterday, one of the private schools had posted a huge banner that proclaimed, "Happy New Year!" and it caused me to wonder why we only make (or at the very least, declare) our New Year's resolutions on January 1st?

We certainly are talking about New School Year's resolutions in our home - or shall I say - Jimmo is making sure to be up and at 'em earlier so that he & L aren't running down the block to school each morning. That resolution has meant that Mommy leaves the house earlier so there's one less Newman getting ready in one tiny Brooklyn bathroom!

I was reading through Louise Hay's Heart Thoughts, and came across a mantra I believe is worth sharing:

"This year I do the mental work for change" 

followed by

"Make this your new motto: "I go for the joy! Life is here for me to enjoy today!"

Louise talks about how in the absence of internal changes, resolutions fall away very quickly. She also says, "Until you make the inner changes and are willing to do some mental work, nothing out there is going to change. The only thing you need to change is a thought - only a thought. Even self-hatred is only hating a thought you have about yourself."

So as L starts third grade, I'm embracing this start of the 2012-13 year as a time to continue making my own mental and inner changes. Since my brother passed away in February, I have been diligent in trying to look at my life from a different vantage point, and by doing so, I have already found that my reactions and behaviors have begun to shift. Those "same ol' same ol'" patterns of the past no longer work for me. After all, my life and reality changed. But as I grow in my own year of learning, on my own path of personal growth, the growing pains of change are present. However, it is by going for the joy that continues to help me shape my decisions, my thoughts, my feelings, my outlook.

How you are going for the joy in your life? Is there something you are looking to change in your world?