I don’t really get New Years. In particular, resolutions. We spend so much time reflecting on how we want to behave in the coming year and never give the year that has passed its due reflection. I am all about past year reflection. I hear my friends talking about what they hop ego accomplish in the coming year. What they won’t do. What they won’t eat. How much more they are going to go to the gym. But rarely hear them reflect on what has happened during the past year. What they are grateful for. What they are not so grateful for.
I say what’s your past year’s reflection?
One of my favorite artists, Sam Spratt had this to say:
“So many of us scoff at the notion that a new year can really mean anything more than a marker for the passage of time. The rational side of me is on board with that, but just a hair of whimsy keeps me a fan of such markers because–like many–I love the idea of a personal “reset button”.
A mostly arbitrary day where we try to give our various missteps a clean slate, a fresh start, and a new skin is significant not because it actually will magically make the next year a better year–but because it makes us stop to reflect on what COULD improve. Maybe you could try to do a bit better in school, maybe you could be a bit more open-minded, do a little less cocaine, play a little less Skyrim and a little more with your girlfriend (or is it the other way around?), maybe give a little more charity, nag your friends a little less… maybe you could even stop painting saliva and fire on everything (ok that one might just apply to me)–the point is… you’ve gotta glance back now and then to know where you want to be next–why not use the arbitrary day of making “resolutions” to do so? It’s not some grand or dramatic thing that will change the course of your personal history… just an acknowledgment to yourself that there is always room for change.”
Check out Sam’s work at www.samspratt.com.
New Years Reflection…I should have gotten divorced sooner
New Years Resolution…didn’t make one, but I imagine a game of “guess what she’s gonna do” is not really needed to figure out a change I’ll be making. After reflection came the resolution, but I know with most, it’s not the case. Exactly how many years are you going to lose ten pounds and is it all that great an accomplishment if you gain 20 over the holidays before you lose ten? I look forward to piecing together the jigsaw puzzle of 2012. Not that I make it a point to comment on random blogs, but I enjoyed this pile of words placed so nicely together. It made me laugh. Correction, you made me laugh. And smile. And think.
Thanks for that and Happy New Year.