Another year’s over, another about to begin . . .

My, how quickly they pass, eh?

I’m not making any New Year’s resolutions this year, other than to strive to stay objective and play devil’s advocate at times — when the devil makes a good point or two. I don’t believe anyone is all bad or all good or all wrong or all right. I feel we should always give both sides careful consideration — and challenge them when we see inconsistencies in their stories. I refuse to follow anyone blindly, especially politicians who may have secret and hidden agendas.

In past New Year’s posts, I have offered some thoughts about New Year’s resolutions from a writer called Sarah B. Van Mater, who passes on something from ancient Egypt. Here it is again:

” . . . One such thought distilled from the ancient Egyptian texts stands out particularly: “Match thyself” — that is, strive to equal in your everyday consciousness that which you already are in the heart of your being. This implies that when we endeavor to change ourselves, we are not seeking to conform to some outer standard whether of god or man; nor are we setting up objective goals for ourselves to reach. Rather, we are seeking to become in our personality that universal essence which we are in our inmost.”

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But as Sarah says: “So often we emphasize the external forces, forgetting the internal.”

As I wrote last year: Most of us have compassion and love embedded deep in our hearts — and how it came to be there is irrelevant. The idea is to bring that love out as much as possible in our daily lives, so that our external selves are a true reflection of our internal selves, the spirit, I think.

Essentially, it means we should try to embody the golden rule as much as possible in our daily lives.

It’s easier said than done, of course. But it is a universal principle echoed by sage after sage for as long as man has been able to express himself in words.

I wish you all a joyful and Happy New Year!

Cheers

— Jillian

Photo credit: New Year’s Resolution postcard circa 1909. (Wikimedia Commons)