RESOLUTIONS

28. January 2010 by Marie Pinschmidt.

I’ve stopped making them. There are too many unexpected surprises in life that can and often do change our hoped-for or planned-for destination. Instead, I take the easy way out; I resolve to daily do the best I can, be open to opportunities that fall in my path, do my bit to help others and leave the future to the universe. This works for me. Like not buying green bananas, I prefer to make bite-size decisions. I can’t recall one single outstanding New Years Eve. Why is that? Not one memorable thing. No life-changing resolutions; and no traumatic results from broken resolutions. No earth-shattering romantic encounters. If there were broken hearts, they were later mended. This makes me reassess the importance of one night out of 365.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t look backward to the accomplishments of the past year, or forward with anticipation to a more peaceful existence for the entire world. Every year holds disappointments as well as periods of encouragement and accomplishment. Thus is life. Resolutions for change often prove impossible to keep; events show up and with one sharp blow knock us to the mat. People die and new life is born. Jobs are lost and jobs are found. Friendships last and others take a different path. Lovers break their vows and others keep them. A lot of stuff can happen in a year. In youth the years drag by too slowly; in adulthood, they fly by too quickly. In old age, a year can seem like a month or even a week.  

Natural disasters interrupt our flow. How many thousands of people have had their plans altered in this, the first month of a new year? How many resolutions were forgotten in the light of reality? Our futures are perhaps more uncertain than any time in the past. It makes sense to be more cautious, more alert to negative possibilities, but at the same time we can live a rewarding life by concentrating on the “now”. The present is the only thing we can control to any degree. We all know this, yet we worry and challenge the universe by promising to do better.

Do resolutions work for you? Or do you end yet another year with regret that things haven’t gone exactly as you resolved? If the old traditions aren’t bringing the desired results, perhaps a change of technique is needed. What if you concentrated on one day at a time? One day of success encourages another, and another, and pretty soon frowns of discouragement are replaced by smiles. Whether your dream is to begin or finish a novel, lose those pounds, or beat an addiction, I wish for you a lifetime of smiles and a heart filled with love.

Let me know how you handle this topic.

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