Goals for 2013

I’m a month late on this resolution thing, but I’ve been dating everything 2012 still, so I’m going to say that 2013 has just begun…

India is made for soul searching, right?  Isn’t that what people journey here for – spiritual enlightenment and growth and yoga retreats?

Spirit-finding might live in the off-the-beaten-path-hippy-tourist-zones of Goa and Hampi and Varanasi, maybe.  It may live in the isolated beauty of the boulder-filled countryside.  It may hide behind the colors of the markets and the elegance of the painted elephants. It is most certainly there. You can find it, at least moments of it.

But, my friends, the cold hard truth is: when you are living here, actually living and working and getting by here, things are absolutely normal.  I mean, not normal, but certainly not soul-shaking. The not-normal becomes normal when you are no longer surprised by it; and on the days that you aren’t frustrated by it, you simply accept it and continue with your day.  It’s normal.

(Maybe, if you were an optimist, you would say that that ability to accept all of the frustrations and non-understandings is a part of spiritual enlightenment.  I am not an optimist, however.  Things are just normal.)

So while I’d like to have more India-inspired, spirit-finding goals for 2013 to share with you, I don’t.

I have the normal, more-than-what-is-actually-possible and certainly-not-measurable goals like be a better, happier version of yourself; be the best looking, healthiest version of yourself; and do at least one thing that is absolutely not natural to you at all.  But these things are less goals and more usually-less-than-mentally-healthy fantasies, so let’s not include those – ok?   

Here are my reasonable, attainable goals for 2013:

Successfully do a downward dog-chaturanga transition. (And then keep doing them.)

Get a job that doesn’t require me to bring my personal laptop to work.

Learn 5 new cooking skills.

Go camping.

Listen to French lessons once a week. (And maybe start learning Spanish.)

A couple of goals that depend on my getting a real job that pays a living wage:

Get a dog.

Go to South America. (If said job is in the Western Hemisphere)