I wrote this last year at this time, and thought it would be good to post it again, only with some thoughts following this past year.
Of course, 2016 was a tumultuous, and very, very bizarre, year. Think of what the world seemed like in the beginning (and it was already weird), and how it feels now. There were a bunch of celebrity deaths, and there was one celebrity who, rather undeservedly, rose to the highest office in the United States. There was also Brexit, and plenty of destablizing conflicts around the world.
Much of the news was depressing, and most of this year just felt weird, frankly. So, many people want to make a fresh start of 2017. At the bottom of this blog entry, there are some links with tips on how to keep your New Year's Resolutions.
Enjoy!
Here we are again. Out with the old, and in with the new. As John Lennon sings about in that song, it's "another year over, a new one just begun."
The arrival of 2015 was a welcome development for me last year. 2014 wound up being a very bad year, as it essentially began with my losing a part-time weekend job that paid very well, and where I felt comfortable. Perhaps I had gotten some sense of entitlement or a false sense of security, because after being there 11 years, it seemed that there would be no reason to remove me (or anyone else on the job) for any reason other than if something serious happened. However, all part-timers were removed, and I was out of a job, and feeling depressed and dejected. Plus, finding another part-time job that paid anywhere near what I was getting there proved exceedingly difficult - it still has not been found by any of those guys who lost their jobs then!
The result was that I felt down and went through the motions, largely, in 2014. Ran into some financial difficulties, and that made things worse, and even more depressing.
When the new year came, there was a determination to change things this year.
For the most part I did, although I can look back upon 2015 and see the mistakes made, and learn from them.
Now, with 2016 here, I am more determined than ever not just simply to go through the motions, nor to repeat the same mistakes, but to make a solid start, and not simply to hope to find the stability that I have been longing for, but to actively produce it.
That is my New Year's Resolution for 2016, if there is one. That, and perhaps one more that I began to feel determination to do in 2015, but have wavered in and out with, and that would be to stop to take time and be grateful for all of the blessings in my life. I felt more gratitude in that sense this year than any before, and it is a tonic that is not only refreshing, but I think good for a person in general. It helps to keep yourself, and your worries and ambitions, in check a little bit. So, that is one thing that I would like to not only continue in 2016, but strengthen.
If there are other goals, or perhaps resolutions, then they would be these: I want to continue to spend more quality time with my son, and I want to read more. This year has been probably the laziest reading year that I have had in many, many years, as I barely read over a dozen books. I do not believe that I averaged much more than one book per month, and that is something that should not be repeated in 2016.
Okay, I know that a lot of people are known for dropping their New Year's resolutions within a few days of the new year. Perhaps the may even make it a few weeks, tops. But too often, it ends there, whatever those resolutions might be. Perhaps it is a resolution to lose weight, eat healthier, or to stop swearing, or to do better in school. These are some common resolutions, and they are ones that I myself have had at some point or other, going all the way back to my years in high school - and that was a long time ago!
More often than not, resolutions go by the wayside, because people are people, and change is difficult.
However, I ran into a couple of links that provide some tips on how to keep your New Year's resolution, if you are interested.
Also, I wrote an article in the Guardian Liberty Voice (GLV) last year on the history of New Year's Day celebrations, a tradition that actually dates back some 4,000 years ago. This was the last article that I wrote and published for the GLV for 2014, and it took a considerable amount of research. But I felt proud once it was done, and happy when it was published fairly quickly after I submitted it. It was a fascinating and revealing article to write, and I hope everyone will take a look by clicking on the link below:
http://guardianlv.com/2014/12/new-years-in-history/
How to fulfill your New Year's resolutions By Jacob deNobel, Times Staff Writer December 28, 2014:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/features/ph-cc-new-years-resolutions-20141228,0,5847777.story
Why 2015 might well be mankind’s happiest new year
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/12/why-2015-will-probably-be-the-best-year-in-human-history/
New Year’s Traditions and Facts: Do You Know How It’s Celebrated Around the World?
http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/new-years-traditions-facts-around-the-world/
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