It is mid-January. Where I live in Northern California we have had a mild winter so far. My husband Jim thought it would be a good day to prune back some trees. He has been at it for hours.
My version of pruning is self-improvement, which is how I view the cultural and religious practices of making New Year and Lenten resolutions I have given myself until the end of the month to complete my list of New Year resolutions. So, I'm on track.
My resolutions revolve around my personal habits and goals, my relationships
with others and with God. I don’t make many.
It seems common for people to resolve to live a healthier lifestyle by eating sensibly, perhaps to lose weight, and to exercise regularly. My husband and I have begun a regimen that includes losing weight through diet and exercise. This is #3 on my resolution list. We are near the end of our first week, and both of us have lost about 5 pounds. We expect reach our weight loss goals by Easter, but at a slower rate.
When I’m
dealing with sinful habits, it’s no joke, I strive to keep the resolution. With this type of resolution I attempt to prune away my faults. These may be behaviors that impede my relationships or my mental or emotional health. The #1 resolution on my list is to begin each day with cheerful actions and hopeful thoughts. By phrasing it positively, rather than negatively, I point myself in the
direction of developing virtuous habits to replace or at least minimize
my faults and/or sins. I'll elaborate on this.
I am very introverted and serious. It's easy for me to live inside my head and forget about what is going on around me. These tendencies of mine can be perceived as unfriendly and even snobbish. It is an effort for me to be cheerful and friendly. I do, however, care about others and I want them to know this. So I intend to notice others, acknowledge them with a friendly smile or a kind word. These are simple gestures that I have found effective in communicating to others that I value or respect them, and that I'm open to knowing them better.
Although I have a great sense of humor and laugh often, my thoughts lean towards serious. I notice what's grim or sad or bad about the world in which I live. And those things weigh heavily on my mind. So it is good for me to remember often that there is hope and that hope will triumph. My dad used to repeat often, "As you ramble on through life, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the doughnut, not upon the hole." There is also the simple traditional prayer:
I am very introverted and serious. It's easy for me to live inside my head and forget about what is going on around me. These tendencies of mine can be perceived as unfriendly and even snobbish. It is an effort for me to be cheerful and friendly. I do, however, care about others and I want them to know this. So I intend to notice others, acknowledge them with a friendly smile or a kind word. These are simple gestures that I have found effective in communicating to others that I value or respect them, and that I'm open to knowing them better.
Although I have a great sense of humor and laugh often, my thoughts lean towards serious. I notice what's grim or sad or bad about the world in which I live. And those things weigh heavily on my mind. So it is good for me to remember often that there is hope and that hope will triumph. My dad used to repeat often, "As you ramble on through life, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the doughnut, not upon the hole." There is also the simple traditional prayer:
An Act of HopeOh, my God, relying on your almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace and life everlasting. Amen.
There are other resolutions that don’t require quite the same level of
commitment. One example is resolution #5 to read certain books this year. I may
not get to all of them, but I will finish some of them. I have begun reading Fully Human, Fully Divine: an Interactive Christology by Michael Casey, a Cistercian monk. I have read two other books of his so I feel confident this one will be equally inspiring.
I have set aside a stack of eight additional books that I hope to read by year's end. Four are books I started, but didn't finish. I don't like to leave things unfinished. Three others are short stories or collections of essays: In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays by G.K. Chesterton edited by Dale Alquist, Essential Writings by Caryll Houselander, and El Llano en Llamas by Juan Rulfo, the latter in Spanish. The eighth book is Everything Is Grace: The Life and Way of Thérèse of Lisieux by Joseph F. Schmidt, FSC.
I have set aside a stack of eight additional books that I hope to read by year's end. Four are books I started, but didn't finish. I don't like to leave things unfinished. Three others are short stories or collections of essays: In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays by G.K. Chesterton edited by Dale Alquist, Essential Writings by Caryll Houselander, and El Llano en Llamas by Juan Rulfo, the latter in Spanish. The eighth book is Everything Is Grace: The Life and Way of Thérèse of Lisieux by Joseph F. Schmidt, FSC.
A rather frivolous resolution is #4 to develop bi-browser skills. I already use Firefox reasonably well, but I want to attain some level of skill using the Safari browser which has a few features I like.
Yes, I know I've left out my #2 resolution, to finish writing my Christmas cards by Epiphany. Done!
Kathleen Basi has written more on this topic at her blog. I encourage you to read what she has to say about New Year resolutions getting a bad rap here. Also, Kathleen is a gifted writer. Because of that fact alone, I find it a joy to read her essays.
Have you made any New Year resolutions? I welcome your comments.
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