I have never been one to adopt a New Year's Resolution. Eat better! Exercise more! Stop biting your nails! Stop eating sweets! Dumb. And they never work. But I have tried to get a little creative in adopting a new habit or practice as the new year rolls around. About five years ago, I made a point of setting aside 30-minutes at bedtime devoted to reading. And while blogging into the wee hours has cut into this practice a bit, I am for the most part maintaining the ritual.
Last year I got into the habit of jotting a few thoughts a day into a journal. I've tried regularly keeping a journal for years, but without much success. I'd go for days, weeks and sometimes months without recording a single thought to the page. Obviously, blogging (again) has had an impact here, but in a good way, since now I have an active way to "journal" via this site. But, by limiting myself to a paragraph a day, I'm still able to record with pen and ink, a personal thought a day, which has been nice. And going on one year, a new record for me.
This year, my creative, self-enrichment New Year's Resolution is this: To immerse myself as much as possible in silent film. Not that I don't see a fair amount of silent film already, but I'll be making even more of an effort to see, read about, and research silent cinema. The Ozu fest at the Film Center is a good way to start, since each Sunday they're screening a Japanese silent. I think a research project in something that I'm interested in exploring further will be a good way to stretch my brain. Perhaps it will lead to some other interesting possibilities or outlets. Who knows.
So, shout out if you've adopted an unusual New Year's Resolution. I'd love to hear what they are. Karen, share yours; I think it's a good one, and one I've started adopting as well.
