What's in a resolution?

There are a number of definitions for resolution, but I prefer the one which states: the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

Firmness of purpose ... This trait of being resolute has nothing to do with spontaneity or empty promises. I remember creating/composing resolutions in my younger years. Whether written for class assignments or personal reflection, I resolved to do a number of things. I must admit ... not everything I wrote down on those pieces of paper were achieved. However, when I discovered that the resolution police didn't exist and I didn't have to complete things in the 365-day time frame, I accomplished much more (90-95% fulfilled). I had seriously considered a firmness of purpose.

If one's purpose has not been defined, then abuse or misuse is almost inevitable. Don't take my word for it. Check out these examples...

Do you recall seeing Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and Ariel discovered the "dinglehopper?" This thing which human beings had used for dining was described by a seagull as a tool for grooming her hair. Although its prongs possessed a similitude to the teeth of a metal comb and could serve as an asset to cosmetology, that is not what it had originally been designed for.

Would you prefer to eat on a sewing table or dine with your family surrounding your nightstand? Or what about sleeping in your bathtub and washing clothes in your queen-sized bed? What about running around town in your refrigerator or trying to store perishables in your heated car? Everything on this earth and in the atmosphere has a specific purpose.

Ecclesiastes 3 (Amplified)

¹TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:

²A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted,^A)">

³A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up,

⁴A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

⁶A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away,

⁷A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak,

⁸A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.^C)">

⁹What profit remains for the worker from his toil?

¹⁰I have seen the painful labor and exertion and miserable business which God has given to the sons of men with which to exercise and busy themselves.

¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

My hope for this new year is that you seriously take a moment to evaluate where you have been, where you are trying to go and how you can positively achieve your purpose. And be firm in knowing that if everyone were doctors, then we'd have no nurses, earth scientists and teachers. If all were chefs, we'd have no animators, bus drivers, and hairstylists. Each and every one of us MUST tap into our purpose, so that we can become firm in our resolve to make positive contributions to our families, our communities, and most of all to future generations.

Where would the Internet be without the telephone which was preceded by the telegraph? Have a great and prosperous New Year!

“One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: "To rise above little things.”
John Burroughs quotes (American Essayist and Naturalist, 1837-1921)