Turning the calendar page to a new year always makes me feel guilty – at least, when I start making all those resolutions. There are the perennial ones, of course: exercise, eat better, save more, spend less. Those are the intentions that last a good week or so, only to sink slowly out of sight, like a ship gliding off into the horizon.
I re-resolve to read all the books I’ve bought; pray more and listen a whole lot more; be slower to anger, and quicker to show kindness. I mean to volunteer more, attend church regularly, and step up my donations to a couple of worthy causes I believe in.
I promise to walk the dogs more often; stop biting my nails; and hey– isn’t it time to organize the linen closet and get all those fitted sheets folded properly?
And how about this biggie: finish the middle grade novel I started? It’s a book that won an agent’s attention in a writing contest, an agent who asked me to send the manuscript to her when it was completed. That was years ago, and I never sent it.
A big part of that problem had to do with believing in myself. What if it never sells, I wondered, and I’ve spent all that time on it when I could’ve been working on and selling other things?
It’s time to have a little faith, even if it’s missplaced. Time to waste some effort, even if it goes unrewarded. Time to trust that you can learn from the journey, even if you never get to the destination.
Is it time for you to tackle something special, too? Let’s not waste another year. Not even another minute.
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
– T.S. Eliot
Happy New Year!
