Last year, I resolved to make no resolutions — thus making my resolution and breaking it at the same time. What’s up this year?
I could borrow a resolution or two from others. There’s Woody Guthrie’s list from 1942 of 33 hand-written resolutions (with doodles!). Mind you, #4 ain’t happening here and #10 does not seem likely, either. If you figure maybe I could try for about 10% of Woody’s resolve (an egotistically inflated estimation, I understand), maybe I could go with just these three:
3. Wash teeth if any
5. Take bath
11. Change socks
Those seem fairly do-able, if not soul-expanding. Woody’s list is one of several compiled by my favorite curiosity curator, Maria Popova, for her list of lists of resolutions, which also includes Joanthan Swift, Susan Sontag and Marilyn Monroe. But when Jonathan resolves “Not to tell the same story over and over to the same people,” well, what’s a good storyteller to think? That one’s not happening, people.
Mostly, when I think of New Year’s — or any designated holiday — I find myself thinking of the Grateful Dead song, “Black Peter.”
“See here how everything leads up to this day.
and it’s just like every other day that’s ever been —
Sun coming up and then,
The sun’s going down.”
Magic occurs through misdirection. The magician shifts your focus away from the working of the wonder. Holidays do much the same. Every day can start a New Year. We live in the everyday and so do our miracles. Resolutions can and should be made whenever we are ready to resolve ourselves to make a change. The calendar cannot dictate to us: “Everything leads up to this day…and it’s just like any other day that’s ever been.” That’s today, you know.
Meanwhile, it’s New Year’s Day 2015 and today’s magic trick calls us to make Resolutions. So, here’s my 2015 Resolution — you can hold me to it.
Since I learn from my mistakes, I hereby resolve to further my education in 2015 by making mistakes all year long.
Now there’s a resolution I think I can live up to.
