Resolutions

For a very long time I have harbored a fantasy wish which would have changed all of our lives dramatically. My wish was and continues to be that when men long ago started observing the regularity of the relative movements of the sun, moon and earth and most especially when they started to calendar those movements into days, weeks and months, they would have had the good sense to have the first day of the first week of the first month on the day we now refer to as the 20th day of March.

It makes far greater sense to me to begin the year when everything is springing into life rather than as it currently is when most everything is dead or dying. Just let your mind drift for a second or two into my world (any longer could prove extremely dangerous) and think how much better you would feel about making renewal resolutions when the smells of leaves, grass and blossoms are bursting upon the senses rather than trying to set goals looking out at the gritty remains of last week’s snow storm.

As things stand now on our mistakenly oriented calendar it is with great difficulty that I stir myself out of my semi-hibernated state and scribble a few lines which will become obsolete long before the rest of nature springs forth in new beginnings.

If you haven't caught the vision yet I have many reservations about trying to make renewed efforts about the girth of my middle, the depth of my breathing, the accrued value of my holdings or any other resolution I might have failed in completing during the last year, during a time when all of the rest of God’s creations have pretty much shut down as they had been foreordained to do.

Even though I will continue to be convinced that the calendar gurus got it all wrong, I am a devout convert of the necessity of taking time to sharpen our saws in preparation for future forests which need trimming and houses which need building.

I am so convinced of the need for reevaluating our lives and giving ourselves a quick kick in the emphasis that I don't think the process of rearranging the priorities of my life should be undertaken in the darkness of the shortest days of the year. This process needs to be brought into the time of the year when the tilting of the earth is once again providing warmth and sunshine. (I apologize to my wonderful friends of the Southern Hemisphere where all of these references of mine are completely the reversal of your experience.)

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that an important undertaking, like deciding on goals which will affect the quality of my future, is worthy of a day other than one that is closest to the shortest day of the year as they are currently calendared.

A lengthy day or two like the first few days of spring would provide me with the light necessary to make a quality list of resolutions as I witness the rest of nature renewing itself.
During this enhanced time of enlightenment:

I would have sufficient time to clarify the philosophies which I desire to have my life founded upon.

I would have sufficient time to weigh the consequences of each goal prior to making that particular goal permanent with pen rather than in its preliminary pencil form.

I would have sufficient time to better understand the impact my resolution might have on family and friends.

I would have sufficient time to set apart moments of downtime, pleasure, joy and re-creation which would give stimulus to the effort needed to complete demanding resolutions.

I would have sufficient time to evaluate the personal impact of successful completion of each resolution.

I would have sufficient time to evaluate the personal impact of failure in fulfilling each item on my list.

I would have sufficient time to seek and hear the counsel of wise and understanding loved ones before planting seeds which will need to be nurtured and cared for on their way to fruition.

I would have sufficient time to examine the experiences of those who have attempted the passages I am pondering passing through.

I would have sufficient time to diligently seek the confirmation from a loving Heavenly Father and receive His peaceful reassurance.

Woe – the genius of the calendar developers just came clearly into my mind. If I start on January 1st and frame my resolutions with sincerity, unhurriedly going through all the processes, considering and reconsidering the consequences of my resolutions, I should easily be ready to vigorously go forth with my well laid plans about the 20th of March and I will be totally in sync with all of God’s creations.

I only hope the remaining nine months will be sufficient time to renew all I will have so meticulously resolved to do.