New Year and the art of resolving.........

Its that time of year again, when frenzied humans consume vast amounts of alcohol and behave in a questionable manner , sometimes with questionable results, in an intense desire to effect a drum roll affect to the start of their New Year (which I might add, does not fall at a logical time like the end of winter leading into an extroverted and outgoing spring and summer, but which rather falls at an arbitrarily allotted time suggested by the equally unnatural Roman calendar) . Personally, I have never really gotten the hang of this!

However, I do get the waiting up late for children who need to explore the New Year excitement……..and pacing the floor and trying to distract myself with Tv or books or chocolate.....and drinking coffee to stay awake……

I also get and try to be inspired by, the idea of New Year’s resolutions. If we must see this as a new beginning then a resolution or two or three makes sense…..out with the old in with the new so to speak. (But I do not get why 'the poor behavior and excess the night before’…. It’s like a last fling orgy of indulgence, not a celebration of getting through anything or embracing the start of anything! Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a party and letting loose a little- sometimes a lot- myself…I just don’t get why one subjective night holds so much of a pull for unskillful behavior in search of happiness, its kind of desperate…is modern life thus bad that we have become so desperate to demonstrate to ourselves we are having a good time??)

The celebration of the concept of a New Year has been around since ancient times. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. The Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the Vernal Equinox or first day of spring. Much more reasonable, things are budding, baby animals are being born and seeds are pushing up through the earth........it makes you feel like starting afresh!

The Romans too, began by celebrating the New Year at the start of spring, but their calendar was repeatedly tampered with by assorted Emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun. In order to set this calendar accurately, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the New Year. However tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian calendar. It again recognized January 1 as the New Year. But just to show how man made this date is ( and yet how much of a slave we really all are to nature),the calendar, in order to synchronise somewhat with the sun, could only be set as we know it after allowing the previous year to drag on for 445 days!

We have actually only been celebrating as we do now for about 400years.

Still resolutions are good…..even at arbitrary times as long as the resolutions themselves are not arbitrary!

So I come to the not so small matter of my own resolutions…..its an important question, what to resolve to do or not do in the coming year…..it can’t be something too hard or I am just setting myself up for failure, which in turn could lead to an excess of whatever I just failed at, in protest and in exasperated resignation……but it shouldn’t be too simple either or I will feel as though I am letting the side down ( my side for want of a better term) ……and guilt will follow which in turn could also lead to excess and over-indulgence as a form of compensation and comfort this time……disaster could ensue and I could end up far less skilful in my behavior just because I am trying so hard or not hard enough to be skilful……I could give up chocolate, but then I’d have nothing to eat while pondering the question of my resolutions……( chocolate is good for ponderings)…..I could take up organizing myself better….but I would need to be organized first in order to figure out how to do this……

I have in the end taken the liberty of looking at the internet for inspiration and come up with this supposed top ten list of New Year’s resolutions……

1. Lose Weight and Get in Better Physical Shape……Honestly I am menopausal!!!!!!
2. Stick to a Budget…with what I might ask??????
3. Debt Reduction……in the present climate all I have to say is ha ha ha ha……
4. Enjoy More Quality Time with Family & Friends…this one I have down pat ( pat on the back for me!!)
5. Find My Soul Mate…Done!
6. Quit Smoking….I’d have to start first and that just won’t be happening!!
7. Find a Better Job…….could take too long trying to work out just what I might mean by better…how about find a way to not need a job?????
8. Learn Something New…….an already given, not possible to live without learning something new every day!!
9. Volunteer and Help Others…..good one but its so hard to quantify just what ‘help’ might be……..who will be the judge of that?????
10. Get Organized……..already covered the difficulty with this one!

So what is left????? Finding more space in my beingness perhaps…..less inner chatter…could equal less confusion and maybe then next year I can define a personal resolution??? Less attachment…more space…..hmmm, as long as I don’t get too attached to this process or too attached to being less attached…or too busy finding space…or…..