I was going to write about New Year’s resolutions, but it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. I mean how many people actually keep them anyway?
I had this friend, call him Jake, who used to make a resolution or two every year. Cheez. First, it was to lose weight. Well, about a month into the new calendar and here he is scoffing down quarter pounders with cheese and the jumbo French fries like there is no tomorrow.
“What happened to the resolution?” I asked him.
“Hey, I stuck it out for three weeks. What do you expect anyway?” he replied. “No one keeps their resolutions.”
The trend continued. He resolved to be more careful with his money. Put some away for a rainy day, etc. Forget that. A month into the new year and he is not only not putting any away, his credit card is hemorrhaging.
Then, there was the promise to be more considerate to his girl friend Mary Lou. February comes, and she is on her way out the door. Seems he forgot her birthday again.
The crazy thing is that Jake is still making resolutions. And still not keeping them. I asked him why. He said, “Hey, why not? Maybe I’ll succeed one of these days.”
Actually, when you think about it, he has a point. The idea is to keep on trying to improve yourself, I suppose, even if you keep on failing. Maybe you fix some little part that needs it, or improve some aspect of your life or personality or maybe you just stop to think about your life and what you are doing with it, as well as what it is doing to you (smoking comes to mind). Someone once said that the unexamined life is not worth living. He had the right idea there.
The other side is that though I can think of some resolutions for myself that might come in handy, I can think of plenty of other people and what resolutions they should make.
For example, those idiots who drive with a cell phone attached to their ears and nothing attached to their brains should resolve to pull over if they want to play chatty Kathy or chatty Ken while in their vehicles.
Then, there are those who insist on having that extra helping of apple pie or ice cream or whatever, when their belts are already crying for mercy. Resolve to give up that extra mouthful and take a little extra off the scale instead.
How about resolving to be a little early or at least on time for appointments, work, meetings, etc.? Then, you’re not worrying about going 50 instead of 45 in the 35 mph zone.
Resolve to do good for others this year. A few extra bucks in the pot, help your neighbor shovel his walk, let that poor person waiting to get into traffic cut in front of you, give the waitress 20 percent instead of 10 percent. She may have other mouths to feed at home, and she has to put up with serving you. It’s a long day when you are standing on your feet all the time.
Write that letter to your aunt, uncle, old friend, sister, son, etc. that you have been meaning to write. There is nothing quite like getting a hand written letter from someone who cares about you. Even a brief note will do.
Thank someone. Costs nothing, but pays off big time in making you feel good and making the person you thanked for whatever she or he did feel even better. It’s called appreciation. There is definitely not enough of that in the world today.
Enjoy life. Life is too short. Everyone knows that. So, what are you doing sitting around wasting the time? Go for a walk, get some exercise. Book that flight to Florida or the Bahamas and go for it. What are you waiting for? Old age to set in?
Thoreau said that he went to the woods to live deliberately and to confront the essential facts of life. He didn’t want to come to the end of his life and discover he had not lived. Take the hint.
I once took a class at URI with a woman who was in her 70s. When I asked her why she was taking the class, she replied, “Why not? I always wanted to get my master’s anyway. I figured this was as good a time as any.”
Wow. I hope I have that attitude when I am her age. Retirement shouldn’t mean a soft chair and nothing to do but build up your cholesterol and your waistline. It should mean plenty of time to do those things you didn’t have time for before.
As for the news media, the dailies should resolve to stop searching under every rock for the worst in people and society and start publishing more stories about how much good is out there.
I have a flash for you: there is a great deal of good out there happening every day, and you don’t have to look too hard to find it. I’m surprised that someone hasn’t sued a daily newspaper for making them depressed. Hmmmm – come to think of it, now that would be news.
Maybe I’ll write my column about resolutions after all, and resolve to write better columns in the future.
The above is an excerpt from the book Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sanity… by Dick Martin, a Glocester resident, former Burrillville High School teacher and contributor for NRI NOW.
Martin can be contacted at [email protected].
