May 21, 2010 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer

In the past 5 years or so, people have undertaken a number of year-long projects and written books and/or blogs about their year.

These projects ranged in scope from Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project, to Julie Powell’s Julie/Julia project to cook all the recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, to A.J. Jacobs quest to live as Biblically as possible for a year, to Elizabeth Gilbert’s international year of finding her true self as chronicled in Eat, Pray, Love.

One gal’s project was to use her crock pot every day for a whole year. Another gal wore the same homemade brown dress every day for a whole year (yes, she washed it between wearings) to protest the excess of the fashion industry.

In their year-long projects, some people stopped using a car, changed their eating habits, or changed their shopping habits. For some, the focus was on greener living, for others it was on more spiritual living. Some cut out things to simplify their lives, while others added to their lives to enrich them.

In each case, the person undertaking the project challenged themselves to step out of their comfort zone and commit to something for an extended period of time. In each case, they faced times when they wanted to quit, thought they were wasting their time, and wondered why they’d even bothered. Yet, they prevailed. In the end, it wasn’t so much the project as the year-long commitment that had the most profound impact on their lives.

What would you do for a full year?

Beth

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