2010 has begun! I hope it is going well for everyone so far. The first two days of the year have been pretty fantastic: spent in the company of family and (mostly) old friends. I got the chance on New Year's Day to jam with my old band after nearly two years, which brought back many great memories. I used to spend many weekends making music with those guys; from the end of Grade 10 right up until the beginning of my second year at university. It will always remain a big part of my life.
I also just got back from a rather belated birthday celebration for another good friend, who I first met in first year. Over the years we've kept in touch - going out for dinners, or 'date nights', having lunch together on a regular basis during some semesters, potlucks etc - and it is amazing to look back on where we've begun and where we are now, doing completely different things but still being able to get together and always have a great time. After most people had left, four of us sat drinking tea and discussing the environment, society, democracy, religion, and memes (which I learned about for the first time tonight - it's mind-blowing!). What a great start to the year!
Anyways, before another busy semester starts, I just want to collect my thoughts and record some of my resolutions for this year, as well as some quotes to keep in mind. Here they are:
1. "I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell" (1 Corinthians 13:1)
I have to work at being better at loving the world, and everyone in it. I also need to be aware that my words and actions have consequences on other people.
2. "One who bears hate for no creature
is friendly, compassionate, unselfish,
free of individuality, patient,
the same in suffering and joy"
(Bhagavad-Gita 12:13)
Something else I need to work on is being more selfless. This ties into my first resolution, in that it means that I need to be better at accepting people for who they are.
3. "Verily, with every difficulty
There is relief"
(The Holy Qur'an 94:6).
I also need to curb my tendency to over-worry and over-analyze things. And finally,
4. "Thou shalt blog on a more frequent basis"
(The Bloggers Bible, 26:01)
Ok, I made that last one up...but I will try to blog more frequently! At least once a week.
So that's what I've got so far. We were talking about resolutions tonight at my friend's celebration, and I realize that these are all pretty intangible, and therefore may be hard to achieve, or at least hard to always follow or even measure one's success. So I need to think of more tangible, achievable goals that correspond to these ambitions.
More on that later.
