God Bless the Whole World

Everyone - No Exceptions

Sunday January 4, 2004

When I stopped at the post office Saturday morning for my mail, there it was - a bumper sticker on the back of a pickup driven by a friend of mine.

That seems to me a good prayer with which to start the new year.

I love new beginnings and am one of a dying breed, apparently, who still likes to make (and try to keep) resolutions at each new beginning. And this new year, 2004, promises to be the best yet in my adventure as a South Dakotan.

For one thing, I will begin my second decade here, come August. For another, I now have someone special with whom to share all that I love about this community, this state, and the people who inhabit it. And you know me well enough by now to know that you will hear more about that special friend as time goes on.

But for now, I want to focus on resolutions. In fact, "focus" might be a good place to start, since I seem to lack the ability to stay on one track at a time. So I got to thinking about focus - what each letter might stand for, and how to make it work for me.

Finish what you start. That's hard to do, when a thousand things seem to clamor for attention at once, but it's worth trying. One of my girlfriends and I have talked about that. When we're faced with a big project, we get discouraged, knowing we'll run out of time or energy before we're able to finish it. We decided the key is to break it down into manageable increments, and when you have 10 or 20 minutes, or even an hour or two, tackle part of the job, and before you know it, the whole thing is done. I used that strategy a couple of weeks ago, to start the monumental job of cleaning out my basement. That one clean corner is my inspiration to get down there regularly over the next few weeks, and by spring, I'll be ready for the mother of all rummage/junk sales.

Organize. Now there's the key to most of my challenges. Finding a place to put things away will be a priority this year - and if I can't find a place, it goes in the rummage sale!

Challenge yourself. Change is hard for me, but it can be a good thing too. I will challenge myself to change some of my lifelong habits - one at a time. Communication - or rather, the lack of it - is one of those bad habits. I resolve to surprise my friends and family this year with better communication. The advent of e-mail seemed like the answer a few years ago, but any such tool is only good if it's used - and I still like the feel of a letter in my hand, so I resolve to write more, using both "snail" and electronic mail.

Utilize time. That's always my lament - that there's never enough time. But each of us is given the same amount, each and every day. I resolve to spend my allotment of time more wisely than I have in the past. That doesn't mean becoming a workaholic - it does mean making better choices in how I spend my energy and my days.

Set goals. That should be the first resolution, but maybe it works just as well as the finale. I have the usual goals already in place - to maintain and improve my health, both physical and spiritual; to maintain and improve my relationships with others; in short, to become a better person in my little corner of the world. If I want the world to be a better place - for my nieces and nephews and their children, I need to make a difference where I am.

It's an overwhelming task, if you look at the big picture - but I always think of the story of the man and the dying starfish. The tide had gone out, stranding thousands of starfish, as far as the eye could see. The man walked slowly along, picking up starfish and throwing them back into the sea. A boy, watching him, scoffed: "Why do you bother? There are thousands of them, and only one of you. What difference can you possibly make?"

The man looked at the starfish in his hand, then tossed it into the sea before he replied, "I made a difference to him."

May this be the year I make a difference.

Sandy Weil is a freelance columnist who writes regularly for the Plainsman. She can be reached at home in Huron, S.D., or by e-mail at dakotawoman@santel.net

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