Trepidation and Resolve

I'll admit it.  I can't wait for this year to be over.  It's a silly thing, and part of me feels ashamed for it.  I feel like I've succumbed to the kind of superstition that I take every opportunity to deride.  Am I that guy that thinks wearing his lucky Yankees hat to the stadium has some effect on the outcome of the game?  Seriously, how could that possibly work?   And how could someone be so solipsistic?  Am I as daft as the astrologer who thinks the alignment of planets and stars on the date of his birth could actually have some effect on his fortune?  How would that work?  Do I stay in bed on Friday the 13th? 
It's these issues with the calendar and its arbitrary nature that now have me feeling foolish.  The only thing that will be significantly different on 12:01 AM January 1st than on 11:59 PM December 31st is that two minutes will have gone by. 

Certainly, I can look at the time period that is 2011 on this Gregorian calendar and say that, for me, it was an overall shitty year.  Yet, I could pick any day and say that this is the first day of a new phase of my life or that I'm wiping the slate clean and going boldly forward as if I'm not scarred by the events of the past and not chained by my fears about the future. 

But perhaps it is not so foolish to think that a wave of a collective unconscious will be surging across the time zones today--that people "re-setting" themselves has an impact (if ever so slight) on us all.  And though it may seem a fine line that distinguishes superstition from the belief in a collective unconscious, there is actually some science to support the latter. 

So let us all participate unabashedly in this group therapy we call New Year's Eve, and I will take comfort in knowing that, by doing so, I will not have compromised the integrity of a scientific mind.

Also, in a change of heart, I offer these resolutions:

(1)  I will listen to your viewpoint before I try to deconstruct it, criticize it, and point out the factual errors and logical fallacies therein, because I believe that is what reasonable people do. 

(2)  I will remove myself from the company of those that do not share my adherence to the above. 

(3)  My mental and physical health will be paramount.  I will work to invoke this resolution in most of my decision-making. 

(4)  I will call out anyone who uses slurs in reference to a particular race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation regardless of their age, status, or relationship to me.  I expect better from the people with whom I choose to spend my time.

(5)  I will try to share in the happiness of those for whom I care whenever possible, and I will exercise less restraint in sharing my own happiness with others. 

Have a happy, safe, prosperous and spiritually fulfilling new year!