There is a fairly typical type of post that happens around the New Year, and it focusses on the idea of resolutions. That makes sense, but I need to look at it a little bit differently. From New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day, the only thing that actually changes is the calendar, and yet, I have a tendency hold it up as some kind of major turning point or deadline for my life. This year, though, I’m not treating it as a finish or a start, but a checkpoint.
I realized a while ago, but failed to connect it to my actions, that the only real goal for my life is sainthood. Everything else that I aim for, I do because I think it will help me move closer to sainthood. That is an eternal goal, one that can’t be completed, at least perfectly, in this life. Instead of trying to start over every year, I need to be trying to build on the progress I’ve made.
Last year, in large part due to the conversations with friends, family, and especially some of the podcast processing sessions, I feel like I made a lot of realizations about what I should be doing in different aspects in my life. I realized, and even said out loud, things I should be reading, steps I should be taking in terms of organization, health, and spiritual growth. Unfortunately, the majority of these realizations stayed theoretical, and my actions had very little to do with them.
Instead of getting frustrated with myself, or starting over with grand visions of what I will discover and do in the coming year, I’m viewing 2022 as a valuable bit of progress. After all, I needed to realize what actions I should be doing before I could make those changes. This year, though, is time for that next step. I’m not setting any deadlines, I’m not making any promises of a personal renaissance. I’m just taking that next step, one or two actions at a time, so that I can be ready to take the step that comes after that. I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and discover I’ve become a saint, but I can go to bed tomorrow night and say that today’s actions have gotten me closer, and when the end does come, that will be the only statement that matters.
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