January 1st. 2012. A whole NEW year. What will you make of it?
Many people make resolutions for the New Year, grand plans that will make their life better (usually just for themselves, but sometimes for people around them as well). I tend not to be one of those souls. It isn't that I don't appreciate the importance of resolutions, or even that I just don't think I can keep them. In my mind, New Year is a lot like Valentine's Day (which I find a bit ironic since if you really love someone they should be aware of that affection more than once a year) - one day of the year to look forward with hope and make a resolution, or several, to enact a change that will improve your life.
But why should that only happen once a year?
Shouldn't you make resolutions on a weekly if not daily basis? Shouldn't you're plan be to improve your situation and that of the people around you? Weight loss is a big resolution for many people: "I resolve to loose weight this year", but how much better would it be to resolve to engage the people around you in active pursuits? Instead of resolving to loose weight why not resolve to ask your neighbor to go on a walk through the neighborhood, or see if a coworker is interested in doing a light workout a couple nights of the week after work? That way you are helping someone else as well as yourself. And helping others is one of the most uplifting things a person can do. One of the best cures for depression (a mental state that is just as common as resolutions this time of year) is to HELP SOMEONE ELSE. Focus outside of your own Self and spend energy on Another Person. If we all look to reach out to Someone Else think of how much better your life would become. You may learn new skills, find a bosom companion, avert a fellow human being from falling into the darkness of despair and disillusionment. Few actions on this earth hold as much power as those that cause you to interact with your fellow humans.
Sometimes all you need to realize this is to look around and see the people around you reaching out a hand. Sometimes you will be the reaching hand, sometimes not - everyone plays both rolls at different points in their lives. But here is the basic truth:
You are not alone. You do not exist in a vacuum. Your choices and actions impact the people around you. So, what is your resolution?
