This morning I was talking to a friend about herbal supplements.  My non-delicate response:

In the new year I want to have as few, bills, pills and ills as I can.  

Her face lit up and I knew I had struck gold. What is it about the new year that makes us put our lives in perspective?  The older I get, the weirder the perspective gets.  But, this I got.

Bills 

I still remember balancing my checkbook on a paper register.  I gave it up reluctantly and yet it has made my life so much easier.  The monthly bills come around faster and faster and the annuals are always right around the corner.   To save time and energy and brain cells I look at them to make sure they are not “out of whack” (that’s a technical term), from there they are on auto-pay and it’s taken care of.  It started me thinking about what else I could put on auto-do in my life.  We tend to eschew it,  but having a routine is like auto-pay.  A chain of efforts gets it done.  So I follow a routine, know my most productive time of the day and strike when the iron is hot.  And that is how my auto-dos get done.

Pills

These are metaphorical pills.  What is bitter going down?  What gets stuck in my throat.  What medicine must I take?  Well, whatever it is, I want less.  My goal is to reduce the number of pills in my life.  And that includes some annoying people who suck my time and energy.

Ills

We have all seen too much sickness in the last few years.  We have seen new social ills, unfair circumstances, and situations that were heart-breaking. The image I keep seeing is the nurses and other healthcare professionals, holding the phone for those too weak to hold it themselves, to say goodbye to their loved ones.  Ills are a fact of life.  While I am here, I will celebrate that life and focus on what is going right and who and what I love.  Not what is wrong.  That is a strong w-ill.

What’s Next

Every day take stock of what works, what doesn’t, and what you must do right now.  Be cognizant of what serves you and what no longer has a purpose.  Keep trying till you get it right.