Resolving My Resolution

Resolving My Resolution

  Every year around this time people talk about resolutions, I guess that makes sense...wanting to start off the year with a clean slate. There will be millions of promises of cutting calories, avoiding alcohol, cutting back on spending, and various other habits that we may want to change. All of which is good, I know that I am always aware that there are things that I could do to improve upon myself.

  But, even in knowing this information, I don’t really do resolutions. I feel like I am setting myself up for failure that way. I never say this year, this month, or even this week...I will give up...anything. Why? Well, because for me, life is a moment at a time. If I can make it through today, being a little stronger...a little kinder...for myself and those around me...then I am a success. I will mess up. And since I am human, I allow myself that reality. But the real beauty is found in the fact that even though I may not be perfect...tomorrow I will again attempt to do better.

  I will speak more softly and less rapidly. I will try and listen more intently. I will try and avoid those tempting conversations that I know will grow to become a war of wills. I will attempt to show people how very much I love them, with all that I say and do. I will continue talking to God and pray that the intentions of my heart remain as pure as they were when I was a child.

  And just as certainly as I have written this...I will fall short. I know this may sound like I am giving myself a “free pass” to fail...but it is really just a matter of saving myself from my most destructive critic...me. I learned long ago that the bar I set for myself is, more times than not, unrealistic. I tend to hold myself accountable for the actions of others...thinking that if I had just done a little more, maybe I could have made a difference. But the sad reality for me is that we all are responsible for ourselves. We all have the knowledge that everyday is a new day; a new beginning. We can learn from our shortcomings, or those of others. We can add to the light of others or we can splash water on their flame...it’s a new day.

  I don’t really need a resolution to remind me that I should push myself away from the table a little sooner, or that I didn’t really NEED that new dress. But these are lofty goals, and I can accept them as such. The definition for resolution is to make a firm decision to do something; the process of resolving something such as a problem or dispute. So, for myself, I would find the resolution for world peace to be a good resolution...although perhaps one that we should work at everyday, and not just on New Years Eve. I would resolve to end hunger, in the Horn of Africa and every where in the world, I would resolve to end senseless killing on the global front, as well as in our own back yard. I would pray that we would stop rationalizing the killing of people by the state. I would resolve that we stop creating barriers as a means to avoid our own inner conflict.

  These are real problems or issues...so perhaps if we all resolved to work at these...all the other changes that we want to make would come a bit easier.

  I would resolve that everyone would read about something or someone that they know very little about...for with education our bounty is limitless. I would resolve that we become more compassionate about our fellow man and woman. We may learn from the very people we are careful not to touch with our hearts. I pray we stop sitting in judgment of others, lest we be judged. I hope we rally around the fact that together we are united...and as history has proven...divided we will fall.

  I wish one day that we could all sit at one giant table, and have a conversation about our day and our plans for tomorrow without fear of letting our hearts be touched by those we have been led to believe are less than us. I trust that if we open our hearts...love will lead us back to the Creator.

  Living in despair out of fear that has been bred in us causes us to lose hope. We often are walking in the blind...never quite realizing that we are making life more difficult than it has to be. I understand hesitancy. I understand it because I have been hurt before. I have reached out to someone just to have my hand burned by their flame. But had I hesitated, as a reflex from that experience...I would have not had the pleasures of my life. Instead I walked on, my head held high...knowing that the gifts of Allah/God are worth the risk of the pain.

  So in the New Year...I wish you hope...love...peace...compassion and the ability to see past what you think you know. Find a beautiful place, within your heart, mind or soul and focus on it with this thought: if you have it within you someone else also has it within themselves. Focus on your higher purpose...give back and lift up...not only for a New Year, but for a new life. Give our children a reason to smile...become the example that we all search for. Give thanks, for with God...the possibilities are endless.