Wednesday, January 02, 2008

New Year's Resolutions

Technically New Year's resolutions aren't really something that has a place within our faith tradition. The tick of the calendar to a new numerical year just means that we've had 365 days since the last one. However, it is a means by which we mark time, and we tend to get introspective, myself included... Choosing to do something new as a matter of practicing our faith is something that is part of our faith. It's just not necessarily tied to January 1st. More often than not, we see it in connection with Lent... those six weeks approaching Easter. The practice is a way for us to be more mindful of our relationship with God.

New Year's resolutions, by contrast, tend to be more personal choices. Working off those extra few pounds that we've packed on amidst all those Christmas gorge-fests, more exercising, give up smoking... that sort of thing. The problem is, by mid-January we've slid back into our old habits, resolving that we'll give it another go come 2009. The challenge of creating new habits is sticking with it for long enough that it does indeed become a new habit.

My resolution? I have a few internal ones, but only one that I'll make public:

Write on my blog more...