Happy new year!
A little late you say? Well, who says that the year begins on January 1? Numa Pompilius? Why should I listen to that guy? Any day and every day can be a beginning, so you and I can celebrate the new year whenever we want to.
Every year, in late December and early January, we read about people who make resolutions, begin with good intentions, then stumble, fail, and quit. Gyms and churches see more people for a while. People try to renew, to walk a better path, and then slip off. And they don't get back on. Or they don't take a lesson from the mistake and set a better, more useful goal. They just slip back and wait until next year. I think that's a bit sad.
Every day is a new year. I know I'm sounding like a self-help guru here, and I don't want to, but the way people respond to small failures bothers me. People fail. All people fail. In the immortal words of Adam Savage, "failure is always an option." If you're not failing occasionally, you are not trying.
I know people who believe in a comparatively recent notion that in order for us to have a fulfilling life we must go through a singular experience, to be "born again" as a new person, renewed in our commitments and our faith. I don't think that's a very helpful philosophy. I think it better that we make an effort to be continually renewed, to start fresh as frequently as possible. Be born again and again and again.
So, what are my resolutions for this year, which begins today and runs until I say so? Same as usual, be a better version of me, read more, write more, engage more, experience more, stop doing things that are self destructive, do things that lead to health, growth, and renewal. My goals are the same. The resolution is to succeed.
See you next year. Whenever that is.
