I’ve never been one to make goals and have always had a terrible time actually putting some thought into things like New Year’s Resolutions. But if there is one thing I’ve learned in 2013, it’s the idea of good habits and rhythms for life. Maybe I’m still not entirely sold on goals and lists and resolutions. Yet I am one to trust in the idea of a rhythm. I learned it first in writing. I know what times of day are best for my writing. I know where I need to be sitting and what needs to happen in order for me to get it done.
And I’ve also learned the significance of keeping things simple when it comes to goals or rhythms. Just DO one thing a day that will get you where you need to go. Just save SOMETHING, anything, if you want to get money in the savings account. Save it once a paycheck, not matter the amount. Instead of trying to knock out the whole list, just take the first one or two and the rest seem to just fall into place.
So with that in mind, I am going to try something new. I am going to set some resolutions/tasks/goals/ideas to guide me in 2014. I know that there are things that I want to accomplish this year and by creating a list, I can have some way to review and see how I’m doing. And so here are my resolutions for 2014:
1. I resolve to write more letters, journal more and to print more pictures.
There’s something powerful, I’ve found, to actual handwritten letters, thought out journaling and physically printed pictures. We live in a time saturated with communication and blurbed thoughts and thousands upon thousands of pictures and videos of our everyday lives. It makes so much of it cheap if you ask me. But there’s something transformative about having something physical in your hands to remember your thoughts and to help you look back on your own life. And so I’m resolving to do more: to write friends letters, to journal at least a couple times a week and to print pictures to hang in my apartment and office. I’m hoping it will help me cut through the saturation and to get to the real stuff.
2. I resolve to write more, more thoughtfully and more regularly.
I want to be a writer. I’ve known that for some years now. And every writer says the best thing to do is…write. In 2014, I want to take writing on as more of a discipline. I want to turn out something for public viewing at least every couple weeks. I want to try different avenues: letters to the paper, submission to journals, and of course blogs. At the same time, I want to do it more thoughtfully. I want people to know I’m not just spouting stuff off the top of my head (which I try never to do anyway). I want to put some research and some forethought into what I’m doing. And ultimately, I want to find a project, some vein of thought or research, to which I can dedicate myself. I want to turn out something substantive this year.
3. I resolve to use social media more authentically.
This was something suggested by one of the youth ministry blogs I follow. Social media affords us many wonderful opportunities and great tools for sharing. But they also come with a dark side. People can only show one side of themselves. Research has shown most Facebook users are using Facebook as an ego-tool, boasting personal successes only. Research also shows that Facebook has an addictive quality to it. We literally get a shot of dopamine each time someone “Likes” something we post.
It is also used to cut-down, to deride and embarrass others, and to rant.
I don’t mean to sound like an old geezer here, but this is something I will not abide. I don’t want to have social media outlets that give a perception of who I am that is completely foreign to who I really am. And so I’m not kicking these tools to the curb but I am resolving to use them as just that: tools. They are ways to connect with people, ways to let people know some things about me and about my life. And as such, I want it to be an accurate picture of who I am. All my posts will not be happy, ego-boosting, or ranty. I will strive to use them as tools to communicate.
4. I resolve to practice Sabbath.
When I was unemployed for a month, I discovered a strange phenomenon. Other than updating resumes and sending out cover letters, I literally had nothing to do. And for awhile that was great, but after some time I got bored of being boring.
Something radical happened then. I picked up my camera and I started going on photo trips once a day. I set out with no agenda other than to go to a destination and take pictures. My mind cleared. I didn’t worry about where I was going or what tasks I had to accomplish or what was happening next. For the first time in my life I think I was absolutely fully present in the moment.
To me, that is Sabbath. It is not laziness or absence of work. It is active presence and attention to the moment. And I need more of that. I resolve to find that again and to practice it once a week.
5. I resolve to lose 20 pounds.
This is a vulnerable one for me but it’s also a very important one. When I began divinity school four years ago, I also began packing on pounds for a number of reasons. Busy schedule, no time to workout, lots of sitting and reading, lots of eating out. I put on at least 15 pounds that year and have never gotten it off. I’m sure I’ve put on even more this year, but I don’t even want to look at the scale anymore.
So I’m setting out to change that. Being fit and healthy will help me in a lot of ways. And I’ve already started on this one by getting a Y membership today and signing up for my first cycling class. 2014 will be a year of fitness for me.
6. I resolve to put my faith into action more.
This might seem like a no brainer for a minster. I go to church all the time, must be doing God’s work all the time right? I believe there is a lot of good done in the church, especially at my church. But I also feel like there’s a lot of good done outside the church, much of it on the margins and much of it more closely resembling the ministry of Jesus in my opinion.
I knew when I decided to become a minister in a church that the church wouldn’t be the entire scope of my ministry. Rather, it would serve as a platform for me to exercise my voice and my conscience in ways that I see is needed.
Our time could not be more important for ministers to be willing to step outside of their churches and to give witness to injustice and need in the world. Moral Mondays, food pantries, homeless shelters, protests, rallies, prayer services – all will be needed and all will be happening in North Carolina this year. I need to step outside my church and to participate in the front lines of the Kingdom.
7. I resolve to pray more.
This may also seem like a no-brainer for a minister. But it is a struggle of mine.
When church historian Glenn Hinson met Thomas Merton in Bardstown, KY, he was struck by a conversation between one of his students and Merton. “What is your vocation here at the monastery?” the student asked. Merton mulled over the question for a moment and then responded simply: “My vocation is prayer.”
One would be surprised to learn of a man so committed to such a singular and simple vocation, especially one who wrote on many social causes – racism, nuclear proliferation and interfaith cooperation. But prayer illuminated everything for Merton. Prayer centered him and honed him in on what was most prudent to pursue.
I want to center myself on prayer alongside of action and to ground my decisions in the work of prayer this year.
8. I resolve to create a photography portfolio.
In 2013, I received a gift of my first DSLR camera and it has tapped into a creative side that I love exploring. I’d like to see where it can take me. I have most of the tools I need. All I need now is to make it a reality by creating and sharing my first portfolio.
9. I resolve to read and learn more.
I love being out of school. It gives me a chance to actually set my own priorities for reflection and learning. Unfortunately, I haven’t lived up to that. Reading is one of my favorite past times, but it has fallen by the wayside for other distractions – namely Netflix, the internet, more Netflix, mindless funny articles on Huffington Post and Youtube.
I want to continue to refine myself as a learner, as a minister and as a person. I have all the books I could ever need so time to get to em!
10. I resolve to risk more.
2013 was a challenging year for me. It was filled with many starts and stops. Jobs that never came through, calls that were never returned, prayers left seemingly unanswered. I’ve shared a little bit about it through different formats here and there.
After a time filled with so much difficulty, it can be easy to become closed off and to play it safe. And many times, that has been my response. But it is not how I want to live my life, particularly in the coming year. I want to try as hard as ever. I want to open myself up to possibility and to the people I love. I want to go for broke. Because as a great preacher said recently, we are not meant merely to cope through life. Life is not meant to be managed. In 2014, I want to risk big for good in this world.
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