HOW TO START A NEW YEAR EVERY DAY 

Someone reminded me the other day to write about new year resolutions. New years do not really exist, I protested. Do we stop being sad or angry or hurt as the clock strikes 12 on the night of the 31st and become a new person shedding old cares, like changing soiled clothes? A new calendar year is for the businesses of the world, not for the heart. If you wish to you can create a new year whenever it becomes necessary. Start afresh with perhaps small but never insignificant steps, gently but firmly, perhaps beginning one random morning. Let us start with mornings. Tidy up before going to bed at night. Wake up early to greet the sun. Let the sun in – through windows, through doors, through the cracks in between and beneath. Understand how you’re breathing- calmly, deeply, in long inhalations & exhalations or are they raspy short gasps because you’re already hurrying ahead mentally with your day? Understand, and then slow down if you’re ahead of your morning. Tell yourself this is your moment when you do not have to be anywhere else but here, in the now. Water, water, more water – for yourself, your skin, your plants. (If you do not have a plant, do get at least two. Lonely, friendless plants do not thrive. But then, let us talk about it another time). Move your body before you let your thoughts move ahead into the day. Stretch, dance, bend, wiggle, jump, yoga – a tiny ritual, not a rigorous scary regime. Hug your dog, hug your cat, hug your journal, your favorite book, anyone, anything that warms your heart. Nourish your body with a wholesome breakfast. Sit down, pay attention, chew, taste, swallow, breathe if only for 10 minutes. Eat enough, but not more. Choose ahead for the day. Be kind, be gentle with what you choose. Keep a reminder to be kind to yourself when things go wrong, as they will. Create a list anyway, one that you can tick off from as you wrap up your day. Find a tune to hum, one that lightens your spirit. Never forget to think of what inspires you – can be a who, a face, a voice, a smile, a goal, an anecdote, a quote. Never forget to smell nice – that perfume, a lotion, a dab-on cream on your wrist. Step into your day – be it at your desk, your kitchen or the world outside – with a wild faith in your heart, clutching hope, dreams and love. Especially love. Refuse to let go of it all day. “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning”–Meister Eckhart 

Geetalima Dutta is a surgeon, photographer, traveler, animal and plant whisperer