Happy Twenty Eleven to our dear readers! (all ten of you) 🙂 Aside from being the time of the year when people get out of sorts when it comes to filling out important documents, (often even having to counter sign documents because of corrections) this is also the time when people come up with resolutions. While a lot of them might as well be recycled ones, most creators of resolutions mean well and intend their resolutions to be a real commitment.
Wikipedia defines New Year’s Resolution as such:
A New Year resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a personal goal, project, or the reforming of a habit. This lifestyle change is generally interpreted as advantageous. A New Years Resolution is generally a goal someone sets out to accomplish in the coming year. Some examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become more environmentally responsible.
There are religious parallels to this secular tradition. During Judaism’s New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one’s wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. People may act similarly during the Christian fasting period of Lent, though the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility. The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually.
As I look back, I have not really made a resolution for as long as I can remember. Probably because my resolve has always been to press on in doing what I have been doing and be a better steward of the gift of life that is given to me through the choices I make on a daily basis. For those who are hoping to be more organized in 2011 – whatever your resolutions are really, my hope is that we envision God looking at us as Twenty Eleven comes to a close (which can be all too soon, as we know it) with approval. 🙂
