I really dislike the annual New Year’s focus on “resolutions.” For one thing, the topic hits us at our most vulnerable – we have likely overeaten, under-exercised and over-drunk during the holiday season, and now we have to reform? It is about as guilt-ridden as anything our Jewish or Christian or other type mother has drilled into us over the years. Yes, we should get to the gym now. We should go back to a more healthy diet. We should limit our alcohol consumption to the Italian or French quotas of a few drinks a day (at most!). But the fact that it is the beginning of January is even more annoying. Why don’t we feel like that at other times of the year?
It turns out it’s not a new thing.
“When did ringing in the New Year become such a big deal? Turns out, it isn’t just a construct of modern Americans. Some 4,000 years ago, Babylonians rang in their new year with an 11-day festival in March, and ancient Egyptians celebrated the advent of their new calendar during the Nile River’s annual flood. By 46 B.C., Roman emperor Julius Caesar had moved the first day of the year to Jan. 1 in honor of the Roman god of beginnings, Janus, an idea that took some time to catch on. However, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII brought the Jan. 1 New Year back in vogue with the Gregorian calendar — a concept that persists today.”
So maybe fighting this trend won’t work. There is a time in every culture when there are new beginnings, and January or the beginning of a new decade is as good a time as any. Losing a little weight will be high on my list to do in 2020. I say “a little,” because I have convinced myself that it is better to have a few pounds on my bones than not. There is such a thing as being too thin, not that I have ever experienced it! Still, now that we live in a retirement community where there are meals cooked by someone else, I have indulged in dinner rolls and desserts far too often!
Speaking of new beginnings, for those of us who are politically active, 2020 is going to be a challenging year. We have the most important Presidential election in the U.S any of us has ever experienced. Since we have been through many elections, this is saying a lot. We are a completely divided nation, with the rhetoric of each side saying “you should all work together,” but an electorate who has elected flame throwers who will do anything but bring people together. No longer can we sit down and discuss the future of our country without an argument or a fight. Each side believes it is right.
There is a strong tendency to be positive at the beginning of a new year. After all, who wants to start the decade with a downer? But don’t depend on this post to give you a rosy prescription for 2020. I think this year will be, at best, a pretty ugly election year. Maybe the best we can realistically predict is that we will have the most active electorate we have ever seen. We will have turnouts that will exceed all expectations. People in the U.S don’t vote as often as those in other countries, but this year I think we will change that dynamic, because so much is at stake.
So, whether or not I lose or gain weight, eat more bacon or less, I can assure you my resolution is to do more than I have ever done to be sure my voice is heard. I hope you will too!
Well done, Linda! Every culture needs a time to take stock of the past and look to the future. Glad you looked at the history of these moments. And yes, we must all brace ourselves for the ugliness of the campaigns ahead and keep our noses above the foamy brine.
My gripe with New Year’s resolutions is that the custom doesn’t go far enough. We need to review regrets, accomplishments, special moments, gratitudes, who to forgive, who to ask forgiveness from — and look to the future not only for what we can change in our personal lives but our hopes and actions for change in the world. My daughter and son-in-law have a New Year’s Eve party where they make a bonfire and people write on pieces of paper pains and regrets of the past year that they throw into the fire — and speak of their hopes for the coming year.
Good suggestions, Fran! I like the idea of using the first of the year for thinking about about gratitude as well as actions we might want to take that benefit others. Since most resolutions are broken by March anyway, your ideas seem more enduring!