New Year resolutions need not be doomed to failure. Resolve to getting involved in politics and social issues

Today is 12/25/2015. It is Christmas morning here in north central Florida.

The temperature is record breaking for this time of the year and expected to reach the mid 80's (F) today with a heat index in the mid 90's (F) before midday.

But that is not what this tale is about.

This morning the power went out. Nothing unusual on any other day of the year, but today we found ourselves baffled, befogged and befuddled.

Apprehension, trepidation, anxiety bound, and incapacitated over this outage on such an important family holiday, brought us to a frightening realization.
Without electricity there could be no morning coffee, no showers, no water, no means of cooking indoors. We could not feed the children, or the pets anything but cold foods.

Worst of all - no air conditioning and no possibility of using electric fans to ward off the threatening heat.
What a nightmare on Christmas morning.
All we could do is sweat; and wait for the electricity to be restored.

The electricity was restored after an hour or so, but the trauma of it lingered with us for the rest of the day.

Fear of it happening again today was daunting. Food had to be prepared and cooked before the guests arrived.

But that is not what this tale is about either.

It is about the realization of how much everyday "normal" life depends on one thing - electricity.
Electricity is the driving force behind every aspect of our lives. Water, food preparation, hygiene and making a simple pot of coffee are all dependent on electricity. {Even most essential for the growth of marijuana in California}

A modern day "convenience" {electricity, not pot) that most of us could not survive without.

(from Webster's dictionary) having a passive attitude, behavior, or a way of life.

(not having any involvement in, or influence on, things we take for granted by relinquishing that control to others).

We are at a critical junction in our existence and survival on this planet and we take too much for granted without ever thinking about how we would survive without the 'basic essentials' such as electricity, clean water, healthy food, and clean air to breathe.
Most of us have no clue as to what "sustainable" or "renewable" energy sources even mean.
It is a simple concept really:
Oil, petroleum, coal, and fracking gas from deep in the earth by chemicals, are all "dirty" and "polluting" to our lives in every way possible. And they are finite - they will eventually all be used up and we have no viable contingency for their replacement when that happens.
Renewable energy is cleaner, safer, cheaper, and never ending (wind, solar, water power) that is as long as we humans don't continue to pollute, exploit the earth for profit, and eventually destroy the entire planet in the process.

But that is not what this tale is about either.

This is what this tale is all about:

Making promises to ourselves at the end of each year and being serious about keeping them, knowing deep down inside that they will eventually be discarded as superfluous in our daily lives.
When these promises to ourselves fail we set them aside until next year's promises are to be made. We make the same resolutions again for the coming year. This is when making promises to change things about ourselves that we know takes positive action to attain results, (exercise more, lose weight, stop smoking, etc..) is always doomed to failure.
The reason new years resolutions are all doomed to eventual failure is that we are making promises that are self absorbing, self adjudicating, self serving, self bestowing and self beneficial.
The key word here is "self" .
There is a better solution to making our new year's resolutions so that attaining success with those old new years resolutions {left over from last year} my actually come to pass.

Make those new year's resolutions all about "serving" others; and in doing so; serving the "self" is a side effect; not the main goal.

A few suggestions for these 'new' types of resolutions might include:

1. Learning about the perils of of Genetically modified foods and the benefits of 'natural' healthier food products. The end results of this resolution are a healthier life style, healthier body, weight loss, greater self esteem and especially knowing we are taking a proactive part in making our children healthier, happier and safer as well.

2. Learning about the dangers of foolishly extracting the last remnants of oil, coal, gas, et al, from the earth; and actively support the switch away from fossil fuels. The end results of this resolution is a safer, cleaner, more sustainable and renewable sources of energy that leads to cleaner air, cleaner water, healthier foods, etc, that all leads to a healthier, happier and safer planet for the future of our children and our "selves".

3. Getting involved in politics and electing public officials who represent the best interest of the "real" human people instead of trying to protect corporate profits. The benefits to this resolution is a more stable economy with greater individual equality in every aspect of our lives (self serving), the future of our children, and the preservation of the only home we will ever know in this universe (Planet earth - the pale blue dot).

Have a happy holiday, and make those resolutions to strive for a healthier lifestyle, a more profitable year of savings and frugality, and contributing to a happier New Year. (for everyone).

by d.william