New Resolution - The Trans Religious, Nonsectarian, Universal Determination to Determine
Posted: Friday, December 30, 2011
by Christofer French
Rain Dancer Associates, LLC
This may be the one thing that so seeps through all of the religions, philosophies and long held Shamanistic ancient bodies of thought that it’s as resident within our species as washing our hands, taking care of our basics, and the need to work – you know there’s nothing “certain but death and taxes” – maybe we could add to that the human need to make resolutions.
I love this topic because it is at the seminal level of the recognition of will and consciousness.
The most profligate, mindless, hurtful battering that your body can take, in the most criminal, unconscious barbaric individual leads even the most foul of us to what? A Determination.
“Meth Aint Cuttin’ It No More. I’ll Be Dead Soon.”
“Man, Dude, I sleep until noon, I wake up with pain. I don’t even want to go to work anymore, I just want to keep scoring with Meth and selling the damned stuff. My teeth are falling out. I can barely get it up anymore and I am only 38. Chicks I used to love, now I just use them like I can and try to maintain this crappy life I have going. I am going to be dead by 40. You should’ve seen the stuff I had to do with this 62 year old Sheriff to stay out of jail. He has become my supplier and my jail keeper, but now I have lost so much pride I spend my whole time on my knees with him.
Dude – You know what? I need to change my life!
“I Eat Wrong and I Don’t Move!”
“Honey, I don’t know why you like me anymore. I am going down two bad roads. I eat really really bad as far as the TV shows anyway. And I don’t move. I got to start moving. I used to play football. I lettered in high school. I used to golf and do 18 holes easy. Hell one weekend I did two sets of 18 holes. Now the fast food and the weight are killing me like a one two punch. I know I need to go on a big program of change. I need your help and support. I want to thank you for not nagging me to death. I need you honey! I really want to change. I want to make some big time resolutions. I am determined, can you help me?”
“I am such a Bitch”.
“You know what? Jane. You are the only one I can call a friend. I know two drinks are all I need to start slicing and dicing. Just because I am a Trust Funder, you know. I used to say that people hated me because I don’t really have to work. But now I realize that people don’t like me because I cut people off in mid conversation, I look through people who don’t you know, matter. I have a really dirty mouth. And I never compliment my “friends”. I really don’t know why people will even pretend to like me. Jane, I know this has got to make you feel lonely. Like “What’s wrong with me that I even like her”. And you know what? I myself wonder why you even like me? Maybe that’ says something about you. Oh, there I go again, putting people down. The only girl who will even socialize with me, and I can feel you telling yourself that your New Year’s Resolution is going to be to get rid of me! My aunt took me aside and read me the Riot Act. She told me I was an egotistic, self-involved, negative, vain bitch. Maybe I’m a bitch, but not all that other stuff. You know what I need? I need to spend some money on a therapist! Well, whatever I need to do, I have resolved. I am determined to do something new this year. I hate to be obnoxious, but I need you, Jane, to help me find one more friend. Wow. I am just naturally offensive, aren’t I?”
“I have analyzed myself, and I need no Improvement.”
“Joe, you and I have been together for years. You know I hate this resolution stuff. People fail immediately. It’s just something people do because they are tired of the holidays and are afraid of what might be coming ‘round the bend. It’s superstition. It’s fear. It’s a social event so people can talk about how they are so “with it”. Nobody really plans to follow through on their resolutions. Man. I have never made a resolution. I have analyzed myself and I need no improvement. I think they “broke the mold when they made this Scot!” And, you know Joe. I have been sticking with you for all these years because you’re damn near as cool as I am. Ha-ha. Hey, Joe, where you going? You made a resolution to stop drinking with me? Hell. Well, the hell with you. I can drink by myself. They broke the mold when they made this Scot!”
“I Die Daily”
“I sit here in my solitude knowing that the Ideal I seek is so far beyond me that each morning, I awake, I confront this oh so human self that sometimes I practically despair. I look at all of the many ways that I have failed myself, and you, that ---- “I die daily” is my continual refrain. Of course, the failings I am aware of are not the total picture of my mistakes, flaws and sins. Yet, I seek reconciliation and redemption so that I am a confident and happy representative of all of my representatives – my brothers and sisters on this planet. As for resolutions, I am determined to more closely reflect the Ideal I seek, and yet always know that the day of my actual death will find me, still, the human that I am. I am thankful for the grace that liberates me and sets me on a path of being the best person I can be. However, I do have some solid resolutions that I am really going to work on so that I can fit into some old clothes.”
Extremes Most of us Aren’t – But Extremes tell the Story
We are determined to determine because we all represent the urgings of our species. Certainly, we befoul, we break laws, we fail in many ways; but also certainly, we are brethren and kin. Because we are kin, we can all gather during this time when virtually all of humanity is trying to make a determination that has some meaning. And if a good resolution does not occur to us, we can all say to ourselves: “Come on, get with it. Certainly there is something that you could plan that would give you a forward sense of meaning and momentum! Something that makes you feel a part of the forward moving stream of humanity. This may indeed be the unspoken universal tendency, besides death and taxes.
“What Happens Within Makes Itself Known”
Maybe a couple fictional examples above make us despair, but also they teach us something openly. What the Heart declares speaks loudly. If you have nothing more than a simple determination, formalize it. Make it a part of your heart. Join this, what many would call a “silly parade”, and make it real for you. As all of your kin, you too, are an example of the Universal Determination to Determine.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Oh yes, we need to verbalize and determine, otherwise it's just a whim. Great insight into the needs of many, and the bondage some need to shed. Happy New YearThanks so much for your care and appreciation. All the best to you.
Thought provoking. Interesting style and method. ThanksThose 4 personalities have edges. For normal, quiet, thoughtful people, they are hard to take. Thanks for your comment.
Good one! Interesting potpourri of examples. I like the set up and writing. There isn't really anyone that couldn't use at least one or several resolutions/improvements/redemptions - whatever term - and even the effort to change and/or improve shows a willingness to become someone better. Happy New Year!Your summation is perfect. I have missed you.Certainly missed you too. Should be back a little more now that Christmas is over. Enjoyed
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