Kind Traditions

Day 49: Kind Traditions

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley

How do you celebrate the new year and say goodbye to the one that is ending? Do you party until the sun comes up? Do you gather with friends and family to eat, drink and be merry? Do you set and discuss goals for the new year? However you celebrate, take a moment to honor the past year, the good and the bad, and another moment to invite all of the things you wish for the new year.

To honor 2015 and to ring in 2016, my family and I will be having a fire ceremony. We are all going to write down what we want to leave behind and then burn the lists in the fire. We are also going to write down our goals and desires and invite those things into the new year.

1. Kindness to Self:

   With this new year, give yourself something you have always wanted. Sign up for a dance class, learn to paint, take those piano lessons you always wanted, plan the vacation you’ve dreamed about and start whatever you have always desired. Begin each day as if it is January 1, and before you know it, you will be signing, playing the piano and may find yourself in China, Italy or Antarctica!

2. Kindness to Others:

   Start a new tradition or regular get together with family, friends or a friend you don’t see quite enough. Create the life you have always wanted.

3. Kindness to Strangers:

   Begin a kind tradition that incorporates a new attitude towards people outside of your circle. Maybe that is performing random acts of kindness, volunteering at a homeless shelter, smiling at everyone you see or deciding to treat everyone, especially people in the service industry, with the same attention and respect you give your best friend.

4. Kindness to Our Planet:

   What new and kind tradition can you commit to this new year? Get creative. Can you commit to 365 days of not using any plastic or only using reusable containers? Can you change out the lawn for wood chips?

   January 1st is the perfect excuse to commit to and challenge yourself to a new tradition, a new routine, and new way of living. A life that is kind in all ways.

Happy New Year’s Eve. Be safe and have fun! See you in the New Year.

Jennifer Palazzo