Take a moment — inhale and exhale — now consider, what word describes how you are entering into this new year?
Anticipatory? Fearful? Reticent? Excited? Cautious? Centered? Seeking? Unsure? Numb? Hopeful?
A common practice this time of year is to set a resolution or two. The word — re*so*lu*tion — means, ” a firm decision to do or not do something,” or “the quality of being determined or resolute”. Some common resolutions are: Exercise more. Finish a longstanding project. Call a loved one more often. Make a budget. Plan a trip. Go on a diet.
Though they hold good intentions, resolutions have rarely worked for me, or at least don’t last and come with a decent dose of shame.
What I find more interesting (and certainly something with greater potential longevity for this year) is to consider how I hope to BE in this new year. Our culture (including cultures of faith) can emphasize the “doing” of life, but not the “being”. As I spent time mulling over this new approach, I came across a couple of examples of Contemplative Resolutions. Although some of them still hold some of the weight of a resolution, they do move me closer to how I long to move and be as a human, trying as we each do, to navigate this life and not be consumed by it.
As you enter 2025, consider one of these possibilities:
Slow down. Befriend unknowing. Discover a new way to pray.
Spend more time wondering. Seek solitude.
Recognize and approach creation as a family member.
Invite periods of purposeful silence into your day.
Speak less, listen more. Practice letting go.
Pay attention to “coincidences” as connections.
Connect with and listen to your inner spirit.
As you take in each new day of 2025, take a moment to open your spirit to contemplate yourself as a human being as you are present to yourself, the Spirit, and your world.
The mind of the day draws no attention
It dwells within the silence with elegance
To create a space for all our words
Drawing us to listen inward and outward.
We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.
– excerpt from John O’Donohue’s blessing The Inner History of a Day.
