The Closing of the Year

We are edging into a new year. We are arriving at the place where endings and beginnings intersect. Where new years are accompanied by new beginnings, last years mark the ending of a chapter. It is a cusp where "before" meets up with "after." Where the echoes of the past brush up against the resonance of the future. With new years, new possibilities blossom into existence. New loves enter our lives, and old ones slunk back into the cave whence they came. Opportunities sweep in, promising the attainment of success. Present friends become sweet memories; future friends greet us with open arms; people we knew are lowered into the soil from which they sprang; the news of birth are carried over the phone; heartaches, grief, joy, and excitement will also find their way into the inflorescence that is our lives. This is the beautiful cycle of humanity. New years remind us of the covenant between man and nature: the prospect of a fresh start, of reconciliation, of harmony and love.

I've never really thought resolutions were necessary, but the older I get, the more I feel that I need purpose, a motivation--something for which to live.

So, these are my resolutions for 2014:

1. To write.
2. To continue writing.
3. To write even more.
4. To read the stack of books on my night stand.
5. To make more friends.
6. To be less judgmental.
7. To be more confident.
8. To buy more books.
9. To stop procrastinating.
10. To shed a few pounds.
11. To brainstorm ideas for a children's book.
12. To read the Psychology textbook I've never bothered to read (it wasn't cheap, either).
13. To adhere to my New Year's resolutions.