When a Habit Originates in the Heart

Every year, as National Letter Writing Week (second week in January) rolls around, I feel compelled to comment on my mother's life long routine of daily letter writing. In part, because mickeysjoy is dedicated to this particular joy of my mother's but it also seems so appropriate to a time of year when people typically set new goals in an effort to improve their lives and then struggle to keep them.

My mother's letter writing began at a time when long distance communication was limited to the mailed letter or calls made using an impractical and often expensive telephone service. It wasn't a part of a lofty goal or a New Year's resolution. (Mickey didn't write New Year's resolutions.) She simply missed her family and her friends and wanted them to know they were in her thoughts. What started as a simple act of staying in touch turned into a habit of celebrating friendships that lasted her entire life even when technology provided more efficient forms of communication. It was truly a habit born of her heart.

Aristotle proclaimed, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit."

If the resolutions, we choose, are meant to establish goals we perceive will improve our lives, then we need to choose those goals with care. They need to reflect our values... not the the things of worth that society or well-meaning acquaintances dictate. The steps necessary to achieve those goals might take some serious brain work but, I believe the resolutions themselves, needs to reflect something we simply find significant in our hearts.  Maybe then, those resolutions will turn into actions we stick to for more than a few weeks. Actions that result in personal excellence. Just a thought... arising from looking at the way my mom lived her life. And something I need to remember, myself.

Happy New Year!

Priorities

I struggled to write this post, today, as I was anxious to continue with the details of my resolution writing plans but something kept getting in the way. Then I realized that there is something incredibly important, that I need to clarify before I progress a step further. My mother's letter writing routine and my letter writing resolution will never really be about just composing and sending letters. They are both about identifying the things that are important in our lives and aligning our actions to reflect those values.

My mother's letter writing ritual started as a simple way to stay in touch with long distance friends but it turned into a personal and unique way of reminding those she loved, near and far, of their importance in her life. And in doing that, it also allowed her to dedicate a part of her life, everyday, to one of the values that she held closest to her heart....the value of friendship.

With my resolution, I want to pay tribute to my mom and the magical way that she always made everyday activities, like celebrating friendships, beautiful and pleasurable. Personally, I want to be more consistent about remembering friends' special days and communicating how important they are to my life. And, if  along the way, I encourage others to write a letter to someone special in their lives, that will make my journey even more meaningful.