It's About Time

So I’m a week late…. I was busy! Today I’m thinking about New Year’s resolutions because I have finally come up with mine. And every year I ask myself “Why am I even DOING this?” I mean, year after year, more often than not, I tend to keep resolutions for only a few days. But after several dozen new years of asking myself that question… by golly, I think I’ve got it!

I believe we humans make resolutions because we desperately need hope. It’s the oxygen of our souls. In our culture, the end of one year tends to prompt a review of everything that happened in the past twelve months. Well, crap. Most of the time, this is just too much. Maybe a whole lot of good stuff happened that we are now afraid to lose, or we’re afraid we won’t “live up to” the previous year. Yeah, right. More often, this review of all the messes is what turns our stomach. And now the clouds start to gather: what if next year is just as bad?

It’s a good thing we didn’t go through all the bad stuff at once, huh? But then, in the year-end review, we re-experience it all in the space of a minute, overwhelming ourselves. So… quick!!!! We reach for something, anything, that will help us feel like we have some sort of control over the new year. Why do I resolve to exercise? Well, yeah, I want the fitness benefits of exercise, but that’s not what I usually get, because I don’t stick with it. Usually, I have settled for the HOPE that I will lose the weight, breathe easier, or whatever. That’s right, I could have the real thing (health) but I settle for what I need the most at the moment (hope).

That’s kind of like being happy with monopoly money instead of working for the real thing. So should we just give up on hope? No, of course not. That’s like not breathing. Let’s see if this year I have finally come up with a real resolution instead of a something-that-gives-me-hope resolution. Stay tuned -- and stay hopeful.