Small Things

I include this for no other reason than it amuses the hell out of me.

I'm continually and repeatedly surprised by the power of small things.

Small things can lead to big changes.

The small act of writing these few words each day have had a ripple effect on not only my writing, but my life. By blowing the dust off my brain and forcing myself to commit to a few words each day, it put me back in the writing frame of mind. Since I'd already dealt with a blank page here, it wasn't quite so daunting to open up the manuscript file and make a few pages of edits. And what I found there wasn't as scary as I thought it was. In fact, it was pretty good.

So here I am again. Doing one small thing, which may lead to another small thing, and who knows how many other small things after that?

My silly dietary changes are like that too. And maybe committing to those changes began with committing to writing these baby blogs each day? A small snack-size bag of Cheez-Its is not that big of a thing to give up. Or a small (haha — who are we kidding?) glass of wine each night is not that big of a thing to give up. The Cheez-Its are worth about 210 calories and the glass of cab, 130 calories (let's allow for 150, just to be generous). So that's 340 extra calories a day, or 2,380 a week. Or 9,520 a month. Or 114,240 a year. Those small changes can lead to big changes and significant weight loss over time.

I wrote my memoir the same way. Some days I only wrote a hundred words. Some days I wrote 500 words. Say I averaged out to 250 words a day, that's 1,750 a week, 7,000 a month or 84,000 a year. That's a whole book. Now I wasn't that consistent mind you, so it took me about 3 or 4 years to write it, but I did. It's finished and now I'm just editing it. And that's because I thought small.

Small daily habits lead to tremendous changes in your life. You can lose weight or write a book. You can move from chaos to organization. You can save enough money to buy a house or a retirement. You can learn how to play an instrument or knit a blanket. Whatever you want. It's all possible.

But tackling big things is overwhelming.

Doing something small each day, not so much.

Like writing this sentence.

What small thing can you do?

Nude Year Resolution.

I don't care for New Year's Resolutions. They seem like opportunities to disappoint oneself. If I'm going to enact change in my life, I'm going to do it throughout the year and not in one grand statement per annum, thank you.

But if I do make a New Year's Resolution, I try to make it fun. Usually it involves sex or going on vacation or having friends over more often. It never involves weight loss or quitting things that are fun. You get the gist.

So this year my resolution is to go to bed naked every night.

(Sorry mom and dad. And apologies to my son who may google my name someday and find this. I tried to warn you. See? You should listen to your mother.)

Anyway, if you're naked fun things are more likely to happen. Clothes get in the way. They communicate distance or at least offer a bit of a challenge. Going to bed naked every night is an invitation. An open door. The gateway to Sexy Town.

Just kidding. I would never say "Sexy Town." Well, not without laughing.

However, even if it doesn't lead to sex, naked skin leads to more direct contact. Skin on skin contact. I think humans never lose that infantile need to have skin on skin contact. We need it to thrive. All of us. The warmth of skin is healing. The warmth of skin can save lives. If you're freezing to death, you're supposed to strip down naked and get into a sleeping bag together. Or something like that. I read it somewhere, once upon a time. It's the kind of folk knowledge that comes from living in Michigan and other cold places.

It's also 12 degrees here on this New Year's Day. The cat won't get off me. I'm wrapped in a fuzzy blanket and wearing a turtleneck. I've got the thermostat cranked up to 72 but still I feel a draft. Seems like just the right time of year to make a resolution to get under the covers each night without a stitch of clothing.

I've never really been a fan of pajamas anyway. They're so fussy. They get in the way. Seems like we were made naked and we should be naked more often. Give your skin a chance to breathe. Maybe rub up against the naked skin of whoever is in your bed. Yes. I'd say let's have more of that this year.