Sunday, January 1, 2012

A clean slate

It's a new year. A clean slate. A blank piece of paper.

There's a cartoon going around on Facebook. Angus and Phil: What exactly is a New Year's resolution? It's a 'to do' list for the first week in January.

It's funny because it's true. Every year I resolve to exercise, to lose weight, to be a better person, to read my daily devotions, yadda yadda yadda. And it never lasts.

A friend of mine, aliaslaceygreen, has inspired me. Instead of making those same old resolutions that I can't manage to keep for more than a week or two, I'm choosing a word for the year.

My word for 2012 is LISTEN.

I don't know if it's possible to overcome my self-absorbed nature. One of my "interesting facts about me" haiku says it best:

I'm a space cadet
Real life isn't as good as
The world in my head

But this year I'm going to try to listen better... to my family, to friends and church members, to what God might be trying to tell me.

Is a word better than a resolution?

I don't know, but I guess I'll find out.