New Year's Resolutions

Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed, and the great frenzy of shopping has ceased; now the New Year is closing in. People of all walks of life are pondering their New Year’s resolutions. One person asked me, “Isn’t New Year’s a perfect time to break an addiction?”

My answer to that is no. Every day is the perfect day to resolve to break one’s addictions, whether it be drugs or alcohol, gambling, food, etc.

Another person suggested that this year they will resolve to start working out when the holiday season is complete. I feel the same way about that – why wait until the new year, just start now.

I, myself, choose some time ago to have the same New Year’s resolution every new year, and that is NOT to make New Year’s resolutions – I gave them up. I will, however, admit that as each new year approaches, I find myself pondering the various things that are negative within our societies on Earth, most of which have been repeated from one year to another, for thousands of years.

If you want to commit yourself to a resolution, I suggest that one commit oneself to helping resolve the disparities and inequalities that exist on this planet – if you’ve never done so before, this may be a good time to begin. And maybe for the next new year, your resolution will be to commit working on social issues every day.

Another thing we can do – if one must make resolutions – is that instead of giving things up (for instance, no longer eating chocolate, which is somewhat mean to oneself), we should add or begin exercising attributes that we already have. For example, instead of giving up chocolate, just become more aware of the amount of chocolate you consume; the side effects of that awareness will then more than likely significantly reduce the amount of chocolate you eat.

If we choose to add awareness to our makeup, we will not only become more aware of ourselves, but we also become more aware of the conditions in our societies. Perhaps next year, we can commit ourselves to becoming more conscious of our actions.

These are just a few examples of New Year’s resolutions. The point is, stop giving things up for the new year, and instead add something that will enhance your existence and the existence of others.

Just a little food for thought.

Happy New Year!