Welcome back everybody! We hope that you had an opportunity over the last few weeks to rest and recharge, and that you have roared into 2022 full of life, enthusiasm, and optimism!
Oh who are we kidding? The pandemic still rages, schools and colleges are starting their new terms virtually, hospitals are filling up, anxiety levels are still sky high, and all of a sudden it’s single-digit winter after an unexpectedly warm December. Maybe we should adjust our attitudes, commit to making some changes in our lives. If only there was a tradition associated with the New Year that we could leverage …
You know where this is going. And honestly, your hard-working staff here at PubTheo has never been much of a fan of making New Year’s resolutions. But an article in Sunday’s New York Times got us thinking that perhaps there’s some merit to having a conversation about resolutions, though not the typical “lose 20 pounds” or “exercise more” varieties we so often encounter. Author Tish Harrison Warren writes:
I accomplished zero percent of my New Year’s resolutions last year. I’m obviously no sage of discipline. But I’d argue that the chief value of resolutions is not found in our success or failure at keeping them. Instead, they help us reflect on what our lives are like, what we would like them to be like and what practices might bridge the difference. There is goodness then in the very process of making resolutions. There is hope in the idea that we can change — that we can keep growing, learning and trying new things. This hope of renewal is the point of resolutions for me.
For 2022, Warren decided that she’d solicit ideas for 10 resolutions that would be good for her soul. What she came up with, after asking for suggestions from friends who are pastors, writers, scholars, and spiritual leaders was the following list. She elaborates on each, and you can read about the ideas in more detail by reading the column linked above, but for the purposes of our discussion this week we’ll just go with a quick bulleted list:
- Take time to reflect
- Plant seeds of humility
- Care for the earth in small ways
- Think about the third person
- Engage with the offscreen world first
- Make a plan to seek racial justice and healing
- Take stock of your life eery week
- Keep the Sabbath
- Encourage the people around you
- Pray for political leaders — especially ones you don’t like
We probably won’t get to all of these, but there’s enough here to give us a great start on a new year of conversations. Join us for the discussion this Tuesday, Jan. 4 beginning at 7pm at 313 Pizza Bar on Flint Street in downtown Lake Orion.