 It’s that time of year for New Year’s resolutions. This has gone on for hundreds of years dating back at least to 1671. At that time on January 2nd, found in the diaries of Anne Halkett, a member of the Scottish Gentry was pledges of biblical verses such as I will not offend any more. (retrieved from merriam-webster.com/ when-were-New-Years-Resolution-Started) I always have a hard time thinking of New Years Resolutions. I use the excuse that if I have a resolution, why wait till New Years Day? Is there any day that isn’t good to quit smoking, exercise more, eat healthier, treat your spouse better, spend more time with your children or grandchildren, refrain from excessive spending, stop swearing, take your dog for a walk, make your bed every day or wake up fifteen minutes earlier so that you don’t have to drive like a maniac to work and almost kill everyone in your path. I generally don’t have a New Years Resolution. This year I do though, and I’m keeping it to myself because…funny thing is they are normally broken as quickly as they start. That’s why gyms are the busiest in January and by February are back to normal. I didn’t realize this, but December is a month that many people let go of their inhabitations in recognition that come January 1st the proverbial sh!T hits the fan. I thought that only happened on Fat Tuesday, the famed New Orleans party tradition the night before Lent. That’s when we give up something we really like or try to be more giving towards the less fortunate for the Christian Lenten Season. "Starting a resolution cold turkey is difficult." Then I came up with a good and easy one for anybody and everybody. As an Integrated Nutrition Health Coach, there are some key theories and core concepts I would like to mention. One theory is that of crowding out. We work with clients to crowd out bad foods with good foods. All that you need to do is change your shopping habits a little bit over time. Slowly but surely, make your shopping list to include some healthier items to replace unhealthier items. Replace refined sugar, (sugary drinks, pastries, cookies and donuts) with natural sugars with fiber. (Apples, kiwi, berries and oranges) Slowly, replace bad fats, (red meat, chicken, cheese) high in cholesterol and unsaturated fats with good fats (avocados, olive oil, cashews, almonds, wild-caught salmon, herring and mackerel). If you must eat meat and poultry try to buy local, grass fed beef, and cage free chicken, humanely raised and steroid and antibiotic free. Crowding out is resolution #1. Fitting out is resolution #2. I am counting this as a two for one because we can cross off many of the things, we might be resolute for. In Integrated Nutrition we want our clients to fit out. We all know what fitting in means, fitting out is what make you unique. You may fit out because of the cloths you wear, your personality, the hobbies you have, your mission, your diet, (sometimes vegetarians and vegans can be outcasts because they don’t fit in when eating out) and anything else that makes you uniquely you. Work on fitting out as a wonderful resolution to the New Year. And I will see you in 2019.  If you had the chance to wish for anything what would you wish for? It’s something we have all thought about. Perhaps the story of the Genie in the Lamp or Aladdin and the Magic Lamp comes to mind because the story recreated by Disney Studios has dated back almost 3,000 years. But we get only one wish in this case and you can’t wish for more wishes. The story of the Genie in the lamp has many spins and greedy wishes normally lead to disaster and unexpected peril. Or we can think about the funny TV series I dream of Jeannie, that aired from 1965-1970, staring Larry Hagman, Barbara Eden, Bill Daily and Hayden Rorke. Mostly a show watched by the baby boomers it featured the hilarious adventures of Jeanie (Barbara Eden) and her master Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) in a modern-day scenario. All of that aside most of us would probably use the wish for fame, riches, or immortality, just saying. In my first year at the University of Massachusetts, Business 101 instructor, George Odiorne, (1976) posed a question like the above to his hall of 350 students. I believe it was, if you could have anything what would it be. Then he listed wealth, fame, incredible intelligence, great health, immortality etc. This is my first recollection of the concept health and its overall importance to us. The point being why be wealthy, famous, or immortal if you don’t have your health to support it. Health is important to me and it should be to you. Health and overall wellness are what I am blogging about, but not what I am wishing for in this piece. What about in the grander scheme of things? As members of humanity and the animal and plant kingdom, I believe that we all want to live in peace, be able to enjoy the beautiful planet we live on, be part of family and community, have no wants or fears, have a connection or transcendence with the universe, all that kind of stuff. That’s straight forward. I started thinking about wishes in church and prayer came to mind, go figure. Was that divine intervention? My thoughts focused on prayer, what’s the difference? I probably chose the wrong title for this piece and should have called it a Christmas prayer. Praying is hard, and I know I don’t do it enough. Wishes are easy, I want to win the lottery. Fair enough let’s go with this then. My First Christmas WishI wish that we become more prayerful human beings. I know that I need help in that category maybe you do too. Perhaps that’s like asking for more wishes. You can pray as often as you want, walking, standing, kneeling in your car in your home, but best alone in a quiet space. The Second Christmas WishMy second Christmas prayer is for world peace and for mankind to unite to make our world a better, more sustainable place for ourselves, our families, and our children and their children and so on down the line. (Lord why are we such a violent people?) There are a lot of things that can change for the better if we pray hard about it. I am going to continue to pray for lots of things this season and beyond and that’s better than any wish. Peace to all.
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