Beneath lose weight, get fit and stop smoking an important New Year’s resolution rounds out the Top 5 goals for many Americans.

Enjoy life more.

Easier said than done, huh?

Many of us start the year intent on doing the things we love. We’ll read more, travel to new places and spend quality time with friends and family.

Then, by February usually, life intervenes.

Work gobbles at the free time needed to truly enjoy life, we think. Troubles with family or illness send us into a downward spiral with no way out.

Enjoyment will have to wait until next year.

Yet we all know people who enjoy life in spite of, well, life.

They smile through the pain, and so many times keep the rest of us from hitting rock bottom.

Just ask the men and women who have shared chemotherapy time with the Rev. Steve Pearson.

Anyone who knows Pearson knows his smile, his positive attitude and his penchant for silly jokes.

A battle with cancer, remission and an almost immediate diagnosis of more cancer has done nothing to rob Pearson of those three traits.

In fact, patients and nurses at the doctor’s office have pinpointed Pearson’s role in their lives.

God has allowed Pearson’s regular chemo treatments not to heal the pastor, but to encourage others battling cancer.

“They said he wasn’t there for himself, he was there for everyone else,” said Bo Swilley, the associate pastor at Pearson’s church.

And the same encouragement, inspiration and example is something that has impacted the congregation of Community Chapel Church of God throughout Pearson’s battle, Swilley said.

Sure, Pearson’s smile fades in times of serious pain, fear and worry, but it doesn’t stay gone for long, Swilley confirmed.

“I’d say 90 percent of the time, it’s there,” he said.

And Pearson will tell you he doesn’t enjoy cancer, but he does enjoy life.

“I’m an optimist to the end,” Pearson said last week, as he enjoyed a two-week break from chemo. “Keeping a good sense of humor, finding jokes and being willing to remember the jokes makes a difference.”

Enjoy life more.

It’s not so much an item for your to-do-list as it is a state of mind.

My high school Sunday school teacher liked to remind her teenage girls caught up in the height of life’s dramas to “choose their attitude” no matter what the situation was.

Maybe “enjoy life more” is an impossible resolution.

Hitting the gym, putting down the cigarettes and eating less are things you can do this year.

But reading more, traveling often and spending time with family won’t guarantee you’ll enjoy the coming year.

Nothing you do or don’t do can help you enjoy life more.

It’s not a task; it’s a decision.

So as we begin 2011, learn from those great members of our community who find enjoyment despite pain and sorrow.

Lean on God through the difficult times, praise Him during the good and bad times, and before you know it the 2012 New Year’s resolution list might just be missing one long-time fixture.

Of course, then you could always make a small adjustment to the resolution on your list — Help others enjoy life more.

Julie Cooper is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or julie.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.