Cheers to a New Year and Another Chance For Us to Get It Right
And so the new year begins. Just another day but then so inherently special. A day that erases all petty things from the past. The day that encourages us to start over. To change. To fix. To do. That's a lot of responsibility for a little 24 hour day. But arguably, it accomplishes its task. We start movements to change our bad qualities, our bad relationships, ourselves, the world. Key word, start.
All good things were not conceived as a New Year's Resolution. When it comes down to it, isn't any day as good as the next for making a difference? Then again, considering the commendable height of laziness I have achieved in the two weeks I've been home, maybe there's something to be said for this day-on-a-pedestal.
It forces us to break out of our routines. It unfreezes our apathetic stares. It mutes our reluctant sighs. It burdens us with the societal pressure of creating some resolution, no matter how small the statement. When asked about your New Year's resolutions, a blank stare is nothing less than embarrassing.
As I flip through my personal journal (just when you thought you were getting everything) to remind myself of the resolutions I created exactly a year ago today, I admit defeat. The mere fact that I do not remember the resolutions, only confirms any suspicions of my not having followed them. I am only consoled by the hope that I am not the only one. After all, it's no coincidence that the gym is overwhelmingly crowded the first weeks of January, but increasingly vacant come March.
I would be hard-pressed to advocate mankind's utter inability to keep a promise or follow through with a goal. Instead, I'll imply that human nature is one of ambition. We only want more than we can have because we think it is possible to attain more than we can have. I'm not belittling resolutions, I'm just suggesting that perhaps they are humanly impossible. We make these royal goals because stating them makes us feel better about ourselves and dare I say it, better than others.
As we ring in the new year, I consider sliding off my high horse and striving for something more in reach. And who knows, maybe this time next year I'll be hailing the merits of my resolved resolutions.
Here's to being the best we can be: 2009.
All good things were not conceived as a New Year's Resolution. When it comes down to it, isn't any day as good as the next for making a difference? Then again, considering the commendable height of laziness I have achieved in the two weeks I've been home, maybe there's something to be said for this day-on-a-pedestal.
It forces us to break out of our routines. It unfreezes our apathetic stares. It mutes our reluctant sighs. It burdens us with the societal pressure of creating some resolution, no matter how small the statement. When asked about your New Year's resolutions, a blank stare is nothing less than embarrassing.
As I flip through my personal journal (just when you thought you were getting everything) to remind myself of the resolutions I created exactly a year ago today, I admit defeat. The mere fact that I do not remember the resolutions, only confirms any suspicions of my not having followed them. I am only consoled by the hope that I am not the only one. After all, it's no coincidence that the gym is overwhelmingly crowded the first weeks of January, but increasingly vacant come March.
I would be hard-pressed to advocate mankind's utter inability to keep a promise or follow through with a goal. Instead, I'll imply that human nature is one of ambition. We only want more than we can have because we think it is possible to attain more than we can have. I'm not belittling resolutions, I'm just suggesting that perhaps they are humanly impossible. We make these royal goals because stating them makes us feel better about ourselves and dare I say it, better than others.
As we ring in the new year, I consider sliding off my high horse and striving for something more in reach. And who knows, maybe this time next year I'll be hailing the merits of my resolved resolutions.
Here's to being the best we can be: 2009.
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