For Release December 26, 2000

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

I have long held that New Year’s resolutions would be more appropriately made on April 1st, for all the good that they do. But this year I have had a change of heart. I’ve been thinking about some changes that I’d like to make, or perhaps someone significant in my life has suggested I need to make. I feel that all of these are resolutions that we could all make. Granted, you may not resolve to do the same exact things that I will, but look beyond the words to the intent.

In 2001, I resolve to talk less and listen more. Okay, pick yourself up off the floor, stop laughing and continue reading. I want to listen more to those around me. I want to listen better and try to hear beyond the words. I want to listen more to the natural world around me. I have myself surrounding by sayings, but unfortunately I often don’t have their author credited. "Nature has plenty to say, if we just take the time to listen." "See with your ears, hear with your eyes."

It is so very easy to start to tune everything out around us. We are bombarded day and night with radio, television, advertising, etc. Pretty soon we’ve just turned the recognition switch off in an attempt at self preservation. We need to get past that and learn how to listen again. And the first step in listening is to close your mouth.

I resolve to spend more time bird watching next year. For me, bird watching is very relaxing. It is my de-stresser. I walk, I listen and I watch. I look not only at the birds, but at the trees, the grasses and the wildflowers. It is my time to get back in touch with the natural world around me, which has a little bit to do with my first resolution. Bird watching is something that my wife and I enjoy doing together. If I don’t get to go bird watching for a period of time, I find I start to get cranky and somewhat surly. Those are warning signs that I need to get out and let nature take the stresses away.

I resolve to try to get on the TV show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." It’s not that I want to be rich, although I wouldn’t turn the money down. It has to do with taking a little bit of a chance. It’s very easy to try to isolate and insulate ourselves against any risk. If you don’t try to do anything, there is no risk of failure, no risk of embarrassment. I don’t believe that we were put on this planet to do nothing. We have to keep trying. I don’t believe in taking life threatening risks, but I’ve been embarrassed before and I’ve failed a time or two. But what’s the fun in life if we don’t try something new or different. The late Hubert Humphrey once said that life is to be enjoyed, not endured. I try to remind myself of that on a regular basis. If we don’t challenge ourselves a little bit everyday, we wind up regretting what we’ve never done.

Finally, I resolve to give those around me the freedom to do things their own way. I know the right way to do anything. Just ask me and I’ll tell you. The hardest thing for me to do is to let somebody do something in a manner just opposite of how I would do it. But everyone deserves the right to do their tasks their way. They deserve the right to try and to either succeed or fail. Success and failure both distill down to lessons learned. A success is a failure if nothing was learned, and a failure is a success if something was learned. But you deserve the right to succeed or fail in your own fashion, regardless of what I think, or how I might do it.

Well there you have it, Chuck’s resolutions for 2001. I guess we can revisit them in six or twelve months and see how I’m doing. But take the time to look at them and then look at them again and see if maybe you won’t join me in one or two of them. Happy New Year!

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