Dear friends,
I'm sure a great number of us here made a New Year resolution on or before the 1st of January.
And how many people will have begun each New Year with the same hopeful thought,
Now what can I do better this year?
Yet at this stage quite a few of us,
Myself included,
Might even have difficulty remembering what this year's particular resolution was.
Apart from a general wish to try to do something better this year than we did in the 12 months gone by.
The fact is most of us,
If not all of us,
Fall by the wayside.
Yet even though we can fail in our good intentions it's very important that we would make resolutions and begin again and again and yet again.
It would be a great pity if we were to be discouraged by failure.
If we were tempted to just throw in the towel believing that we cannot be better in the future than we have been in the past.
We just have to pick ourselves up and begin again.
Each time we fall we pick ourselves up.
Each New Year offers every one of us an opportunity to start anew.
Birthdays and anniversaries they also provide us with a chance for a new beginning.
But although we all see how a year passes quickly,
12 months seems a very long time when viewed from the front end of the year.
A New Year's resolution can appear daunting when you look forward from the 1st of January.
January,
February,
March,
April,
May.
How can we keep this up?
For a change wouldn't it be an idea to just try a new day resolution?
Surely any of us,
All of us,
Can keep a promise for a day.
Surely we can hold on to the good intentions for 24 hours,
8 of which are likely spent sleeping.
And by repeatedly hanging on in there just for one day at a time we might find ourselves climbing step by step up the ladder of our dreams.
As the old Chinese proverb reminds us,
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
So what would be your resolution for today?
Or if you are listening to this meditation in the evening time,
What would be your resolution for tomorrow?
For a start you could consider what was your resolution for this new year?
Can you turn this into a new day resolution?
There are so many good things that we can do and there are so many less beneficial things that we can avoid.
As you will see,
I will allow you a little time at the end of this meditation for you to sit in quiet reflection so that you can think of some new day resolutions that might fill your life with enthusiasm.
But meanwhile here are just a few ideas to get you started.
Can you resolve to begin each new day with a five-minute pause for grateful reflection on the astonishing fact of your own being?
Can you resolve to end each new day with a five-minute pause during which you can take note of three things for which you are grateful in the day just ending?
Remembering the words of Maestro Eckhart,
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you,
It will be enough.
And then there are possible resolutions for the day itself.
Can I resolve to be patient with everyone I meet,
Even the difficult customers?
Can I decide to listen to what people are saying to me without jumping in at their first pause for breath?
Maybe I could ask someone how they are feeling and prove I really mean it by listening for the answer spoken or unspoken.
Can I perform one act of unexpected generosity today,
A kind deed for someone who doesn't expect to receive it or even someone who in my own mind does not deserve to receive it?
What about a phone call today to a person living alone or to someone faced with some worrying situation?
Maybe I could resolve for just one day not to let a negative word pass my lips.
Catch it before I say it because negativity like positivity is contagious.
I might decide today to watch out for an opportunity to give someone praise for a job well done.
And not only a job well done today but thanks for some good service provided for me in the past,
A service that will have been long forgotten by the person who did the job.
Have I a bad habit that I need to break?
Could I try to break it for just today?
Reclaim my independence for 24 hours.
Maybe I could take a 24-hour break from social media.
100 friends on Facebook are nothing at all compared with one or two people who know you and who really care about you.
I might decide to take a break from the news just for one day.
It's good,
Of course we know it's good,
To be kept informed but more useful to concentrate my energy and effort on what is within my own power.
And what a pity it would be if one day I sat down to eat without giving thanks for the food and the people who brought the food to me.
The old grace before meals type of idea,
Spoken or in silence.
I might decide to take a walk in nature.
It doesn't have to be a forest or a park.
It might simply be a walk along a quiet street where there happen to be trees or vegetation.
Stop to smell the new mown grass.
Take advantage of an opportunity to just sit in a chair outdoors today and notice the bees,
The birds and the insects that share this world with us.
Now this list could go on and on and I'm sure you settled down to listen to a meditation of a certain length and more importantly you will have many ideas of your own which will only come to mind when you stop to think about what you might do in the course of your next one day of good resolution.
So for now can I wish you success in your good intentions and every blessing for today and for every tomorrow.
By making a new day resolution and carrying it through just for each new day may you ascend step by step the stairway of your dreams.
Your new day resolution will open a doorway to a world of possibility and positivity.
So remember please to make your resolution during the period of music that follows this meditation and please come back again and again whenever you feel you need a word of encouragement to begin once more to live the wonderful life that your existence offers.
It's all up to us each and every one of us and the opportunity to make this world a better place comes to each one of us just one day at a time.
Who can ever forget the words of the wonderful Mary Oliver who asks us to consider this life-changing question.
Tell me what is it you plan to do with your warm wild and precious life.
So now my question to you tell me what is it you plan to do with your next wonderful day.
Namaste.
