For someone who writes blog posts that include spiritual growth in some form it is symbolically fitting near the end of the year to review.
People might think of a new year as including something new.
Some blog posts in the past, like this one,discussed stopping and assessing where you are in your life. Some of us realize how fast time can go by. Contemporary society can take a lot out of you and there might be things you really would like to do but don't get to.
Contemporary society also seems to put a value on trying to make the upcoming year better than the current one. Thus came new year resolutions.
Thus, assessing where we are can help us try to get the most out of our lives.
Jesus said,
I have come that they may have life, and life to the fullest.
- Gospel Of John 10:10
The end of the year seems like a good time for me to do the same thing. Here are some personal priorities for the upcoming year.:
Priorities
- Spread the Word Of God through actions and the Internet
- Assist the under served in the community by volunteering
- Gain spiritual knowledge by doing research and reading
- Continuous learning to prepare for a more fulfilled eternal life
- Appreciate little things in life by prayer, fasting and church services
- Be conscientious of health, including diet, prescription medication, etc.
- To be productive at volunteer work and add value to the positions
- Increase blog traffic and get my first freelancing assignment
How does any of this help you?
Knowing where you are at in your own life can help with things like:
- Setting goals
- Keeping your health in check
- Thinking that what you do is ultimately for a reason,or peace of mind
- Living each day to the fullest
- Being mindful that life in this world is temporary and what legacy you will leave
In a recent article holistic health expert Deepak Chopra (including spiritual health) speaks of New Year's resolutions in terms of an inner change. It is sort of like picking a concept to change instead of just an outward action that people can tangibly see.
Personally the inner change is to live more like God would want, versus more like what the world would want.
In other words the smart way to bring in the new year is to make inner changes that will last, and not just resolutions that will be broken by the end of the week.
After all, the root word for resolution comes from the same word as "resolve." Having resolve seems to involve some sort of inner change.
A common resolution is to lose weight, for example. If a person gains weight at first they might consider themselves a failure and go back to their old ways. If, however, you are focused on an inner change you realize that it takes time and is meant for the long term. In this case you wouldn't just go back to you old way. You would keep focusing on the inner change and ways to carry it out.
How will you resolve to make 2014 a new year?
You might also be interested in:
Are You Where You Want To Be?
Personal Transformation - Wayne Dyer
Author: Albert Wagner