rebirth

This time of year comes around and everyone gets the urge to make new years resolutions. Why do we do this? What compels us each year to make goals that we know we most likely won't keep? They're goals that are supposed to make us better in some way; make us thinner, stronger, quit smoking, eat better, to be better people all around. But why do we wait until the new year to do it? What is it about this time of year?

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” That's a quote from, of all people, Oprah. What does New Years mean to you? Is it a chance to get it right, or is it a new beginning? I know that people like to see the new year as a signal for change. Out with the old and in with the new. "An optimist will stay up until midnight to see the new year come in. A pessimist will stay up to make sure the old year leaves."

Here is a different way of thinking about it: "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." So there are some arguments. But what about the notion of rebirth, the idea that we can become new again? There is talk of rebirth in religion. All men should be reborn in the spirit of Christ. That means our eyes are open to suggestion from the spirit and we are more willing to do what is right and what is needed. At least that's how I perceived it. But what about a rebirth in general? "All souls must undergo transmigration and the souls of men revolve like a stone which is thrown from a sling, so many turns before the final release... Only those who have not completed their perfection must suffer the wheel of "rebirth" by being reborn into another human body.” Does that mean literally born into another body? Not necessarily. It could depending on your religious views but I'm going to use it this way; being born into another human body just means that your rebirth hasn't really occurred. You're still the same, a human. You haven't changed into an enlightened being yet. We go around on our wheels and we keep doing the same things. We make the same mistakes, the same choices, we do the same things that we believe are the safe choices. So every year we make resolutions and goals at the new year. Sometimes we are successful but most times we aren't for whatever reason.

"It quite often happens that the old man is subject to the delusion of a great moral renewal and "rebirth", and from this experience he passes judgments on the work and course of his life, as if he had only now become clear-sighted; and yet the inspiration behind this feeling of well-being and these confident judgements is not wisdom, but weariness .”

How true that is. We set goals on how tired we are of something. I'm tired of being fat, I'm tired of being sick all the time, I'm tired of my stressful job. What if we set goals to gain more of the things we love? Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.

So let's put this together. Why do we make new years resolutions? Because it is a new year, out with the old and in with the new. What kind of resolutions should we make? The kind that make us better but also brings us more joy than the previous year.

And rebirth? Well, that can happen anytime of the year. If we see ourselves going the wrong direction we can change direction and choose another path. We can be reborn as many times as we see fit. That's the beauty of it.

"Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn."

— Mahatma Gandhi

Where will I be....

I have goals in my life believe it or not. Some of them even include working. I have always wanted to live a rich leisurely life. I have always wanted to travel and see the world. I have a huge list of places that I want to see before I die. I'm not too much into the skydiving, climbing Mt. Everest, hiking the Appalachian Trail (the real trail dirty people) but rather I want to see Rome, Paris, Tokyo, and those kinds of things. Some of my strange goals include living in Polynesia, living the life they live. Or maybe joining the Peace Corps and helping out with underprivileged nations. I would love to experience the world through the eyes of the people and not the eyes of a tourist. Some of my dreams have passed me by. I will never play for a NBA team, I probably won't be a mountain bike racer professionally, and I never did go on a LDS mission. Not realizing my dreams wasn't the end of the world, disappointing yes, but life went on.

My goals have evolved. Now I want to raise good kids. I want to pay my bills. I want to enjoy myself on the weekends going to dinner with friends and riding my bike with my family. I want to get in shape. I want to learn more about cooking. I want to play video games. And the strange thing about all of these goals is that I'm living them now. These goals are not far away in the future, they are happening every day. My kids are good kids. TJ just got straight 5's on his report card which corresponds to straight A's plus he was above average in all categories. I have to pay him 10 bucks now. Jacob is growing and becoming a man much quicker than I ever thought he would. Chauntay is a beautiful and talented young woman. She surprises me with her sweetness and thoughtfulness all the time. I got a small promotion at work so I can pay my bills and have a lot left over for enjoying the weekends. I cook routinely. I find new recipes and new ways of cooking on the internet and in cookbooks. I am riding my bike more now than when I first got married. I have joined a gym and have a weekly routine. And, yes, I play video games frequently.

So if you want to read this as a goal sheet, that's not really what it is. There is still more goals that I would like to accomplish in my life but for now I'm happy to be living my life the way I should right now.

Thanks for reading.