A Resolution Worth Keeping

I started thinking about some of the New Year’s resolutions that I have made in the past; things like becoming more organized or eating fewer calories. I would promise myself that I would get up before dawn every day to do 45 minutes of cardio before starting my day.  One year I promised myself I would learn to speak Italian.  Each year I would start with the best of intentions and I would be totally committed for about twelve weeks. After that, I would get bored and stop thinking about the resolutions and before I knew it they would become nothing more than a distant memory.

This year I asked myself, should a New Year’s resolution be as task oriented and meaningless as I had been making them? Should it involve being more strict with calorie counting or keeping my shoes in perfect order in my closet all year? Or, should a New Year’s resolution be about more than that?   Is it possible that in order to truly commit to a resolution, it must be about who I want to be and not what I want to do?

I believe the answer is yes. If a resolution is going to last it must have meaning. It must be something that is more selfless than a shoe closet, and it must be something that brings me closer to a spiritual awakening. A resolution must have deep roots in the spirit and little ties to the ego.  The goal for me, therefore, must not be commitment to tasks; the goal must be commitment to self-awareness.

Self-awareness is a tall order and I realize that I have much to learn. I am a firm believer in the power of intention and the power of positive thinking. I understand that we all have inherent within us a God-given power to create a reality that we desire.  However, taking my beliefs and understandings to a level in which I can learn to temper my ego, focus my thoughts, and desire only good; well that is an entirely different league.

This brings me to my 2012 resolution, meditation. Not meditation as a task, but meditation as a path. I will use meditation as a path to understanding, a path to my own inner voice, and a path to letting go of the ego. I will not commit to certain hours or certain days because then it becomes project and not a practice. Instead, I will learn to find the quiet times in unexpected situations. Perhaps while standing in a line at the grocery store, or maybe during that five minutes before the yoga class starts. I will learn to be present in my daily situations, not thinking about yesterday or worrying about tomorrow. I will be present, right here, and right now. And when those moments present themselves, I will focus my mind on a few minutes of meditation.

I invite you to take this journey with me in 2012. Each week, in addition to my blogs, I will post about what I am learning through my meditation. And each week, I invite you to share with me what you are learning through yours. Together we can develop our self-awareness and align ourselves with our higher purpose. We can share our awakenings and admit our shortcomings. Together we can make 2012 the year we become just a little closer to who we want to be.