Resolutions by Korki Whitaker [Reprinted from Nova, newsletter of Western Michigan Mensa, January, 2004; Sara Youngman, Editor]

January 1st is traditionally the one day that many people come up with one or two or a whole list of things they would either like to do or stop doing. My New Year’s Resolution list is quite simple; "Wait until a better time of the year to start on my resolutions." What joy can I find from trying to change my life when I can’t both drive to and from work in daylight? How does trying to change bad habits or cultivate good ones help when coping with snow and cold? It is all I can do to survive what is happening with the weather, without heaping additional self-imposed stresses.

If New Year’s Day is not a candidate for forming positive resolutions, what day would be a good one? One candidate might be either of the equinox. Spring is a season when the world around me is wakening and greening. This is a time for new beginnings, and it is a time that — if I am trying to destroy an old habit — there are things to do other than to be housebound by the cold and the dark. The autumn equinox is a time when we should realize that like the balance of sun and dark and swinging to the darkness, that our lives are dwindling to closer to an end, and we should become as humane and good as possible.

If not an equinox, Memorial Day is one that should see us reflecting on the sacrifices that soldiers have made in the name of our freedoms. How more appropriate to try to change ourselves for the better as a remembrance that we have the freedom to change. Instead of Memorial Day becoming a day off from work, it could be the day we decide to reflect and to make promises to ourselves to keep.

If not Memorial Day, the Fourth of July is another good choice. As our country declared its independence and decided to fight for the right to self-govern, so can it be a day when we acknowledge our desire for independence from bad habits or the right to cultivate positive traits.

The list of potential days could go on for as many days as are in a year. And maybe that is the answer. Maybe every day should be one where we reflect what we can do to become better individuals, to make a positive difference in someone’s life, to make the world a better place. It makes no difference if for some reason we break one of the day’s resolutions, as long as the next day we start again. It’s the trying that counts.