Resolution, Absolution, Acceptance

This version/melody of the old standard "Auld Lang Syne" has been a favorite. May it trigger some reflection for you, too.

Actual New Year resolutions have been off of my list of Things To Do for decades now. If any of you make commitments to yourself or whoever/whatever and actually stick to them, my hat's off to you. Really. Unfortunately the follow-through is all too often woefully inadequate, and the commitment falls to the wayside; you can hear them crashing into the briars all around you this first few weeks of January as new bricks of good intentions are set into place on the road to hell, so to speak.

The lobbies of 24-Hour Fitness and other gyms will again be standing room only this week as people vow to begin getting themselves into shape to cross a common resolution off of the list. In three weeks you'll again be able to fire a cannon through most of them and not hit many folks. Likewise Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and other weight loss schemes and diet plans. Most of us are still waiting for some miracle drug to magically slide the weight off of us, rather like the hot fudge sliding down the sides of the sundaes many will be sitting in front of in another fortnight!

In my early college days I worked in a convenience store that stocked liquor. It worked well for me, because I drank my share (and then some) back in those days, too. You'd notice there'd be a distinct drop in the beer and booze sales the first week of January, but soon the same old customers would return one or more times a day for the half pints they possibly thought nobody noticed them slipping from their pocket for a quick slug.

Speaking in absolutes is often a poor idea, I think. If you've read the blog regularly you know you don't see me using them very often; "always" and "never" rarely pass my lips. The same goes for resolutions. Committing to most anything for a year is iffy, at best. Some of you already know that much of my thinking is along the lines of "one day at a time", and that's far more realistic. Honestly. Trust me on this one.

Every so often I hear from someone one way or another who - with all good intentions - points out some baseless, mean-spirited comment someone has made about me in the either the real or cyber-world, as though I ought to know.  I thank them and then file the comment in either the trash or recycle bin - wherever it does the most good for myself and the universe. Usually that means the trash.  If I'm having a decent day I stop to briefly forgive the offending party and wish them a good day, and that's the end of it, 98% of the time. I learned a long time ago: if you let them get to you, they've won.

Again, I'm a country mile from being a perfect person, but to the people that matter that doesn't matter, if you know what I mean. Those that care about me (on whatever level) don't pick on my shortcomings; a wise thing for anyone with mirrors in their home to do.

My resolutions for this year - and yes, I do make some generalized ones as guideposts - are the same as the past few years: make an honest attempt to eat better, get some sort of regular exercise, treat others as I'd like to be treated and make some sort of a positive difference on this big blue marble we hurtle around the sun on at 108,000 km per hour.

That I can do. That I can accept.

May all of you have a healthy, happy and lucky 2013/2556 - and in that order, too. Happy New Year, everyone.