Movie Musings

A friend and I were discussing a movie I watched recently called Jeremiah Johnson, which came out around 1972 and starred Robert Redford. The movie made a big impact on me (apart from the fact that Redford was in it….I would be content just to watch him read the phone book.) I lamented about how incredibly difficult life must have been for this “mountain man”, when the sum total of each day was spent trying to find food in the inhospitable frozen mountains. Every single moment was dedicated to staying alive, and at the end of each day, you knew that the next one would be exactly the same. But my friend had a different take. “How easy it must have been!” he pointed out. No working by committee, no meetings, no hidden agendas, no juggling money, no responsibilities other than finding food and surviving. How freeing must that have been?! Your only responsibility was to yourself, and you relied on no one but yourself. Life was black and white, with absolutely no shades of grey. You either made it or you didn’t. Makes me wonder……

Gratitude

Today will be spent in gratitude. I give thanks for an anonymous benefactor. For a connection from the (long ago!) past who can help me with my family. For the friend at lunch that asked for a “to-go box” and then gave it to me. For the person that smiles at me for no reason. For a job well done. For a student that is excited to come to class. For my children that call just to say hello (and to tell me that there is snow on their balcony!)

Your Resolutions

I have been amazed at the New Year Resolutions that have come in over the past two weeks; not so much at the number, but at the sheer variety of them all. It just goes to show you that we are all indeed very different, with very different priorities and mind sets.I certainly can’t write all of them, but some of the most interesting New Year Resolutions were:

Eat less red meat. Whine less. Find a charity. Love more. Quit cussing.Try to take the high road. Do something that scares me. Don’t play it safe. Learn to love vegetables. Be more unexpected. Kiss my spouse every day, even when I want to kill him/her. Save money, even if it’s only a dollar a week. Buy a new frying pan (yes, really!) Take up a hobby. Actually read the newspapers every day. Take the time to listen to people. Quit multi-tasking (which contradicts the next one..) Be more efficient. Ask for advice more often. Ask for directions. Touch the ones I love more often. Quit kicking the dog. Stop smoking.

The best resolution I’ve found was to “be mindful”. Loosely translated, it means to try and make the best decisions possible, and covers everything from what to order at a restaurant to whether or not to unload on someone that’s irritated you to deciding on how to spend free time. Bottom line? We all want to be the best we can be.

Happy New Year!

Stepping into a new year is always a bit exciting. It’s another chance for a fresh start, a new beginning, full of possibilities and promise. For a cancer patient, that excitment is laced with deep thankfulness and a renewed focus. I talk to a LOT of patients, and their new year’s resolutions are a bit different than the typical ones you hear at the proverbial water cooler.

So….did YOU make a New Year’s resolution? What was it? Please share with us….