2013: Why Have One Resolution When You Can Have a Theme?

Good news! The world didn't end! But I guess that is not so surprising for the most of us...
I hope everyone had a happy and safe new year.

While there are so many good topics I want to talk about, I decided to bring up the old and boring idea of a New Year's resolution. While I didn't really celebrate the New Year (I already had one this last September), I did take the chance to think of a theme: Reflection.

Instead of doing what most people do, I did not briefly reflect on this past year and make a resolution to change something in the new year. My "resolution" was literally to "reflect" for 2013. So many times we live life and don't really recognize what is happening to us. I cannot tell you how many weeks have gone by, where shabbos comes and goes and I wonder "What happened to my week?!" I find shabbos is intended to separate the holy from mundane (in a literal sense because shabbos is the day to connect to the high physical and spiritual levels). However, shabbos serves a very practical purpose. It is one day of the week we can't distract ourselves by meaningless t.v. and text-message conversations comprising of "wats^" and "lol" (I think the "wats^" just outdated myself a little, do people still use that?). Instead, we have to be with the people we are with (shocking) and take time to reflect what has actually happened to us in the previous week. But even with shabbos, many people are clever enough to avoid this self-reflection.

In this new year, I want to be more reflective. I want to make each day jam-paced and meaningful, but in a conscience and well-thought out way. I don't want to be burdened with menial tasks, I wanted to be gifted with detailed and specific goals.

In Mesilias Yesharim (Path of the Just) we just learned a section in the second or third chapter that says no one could sin if they just took a second to stop and think. Now, whether you believe in Gd and the idea of sinning or not, it is a good thing to keep in mind. If people would just take a second to stop and think about what they are doing, I think the world would be a much brighter, more meaningful, more productive, happier place.

I hope 2013, and every year after that, is filled with positive vibes, meaningfulness, and a sense of peace that comes with reflection and conscience effort.