No Resolutions, Just Resolve

 

"I'm in my prime."

[The following is the Devotional/Reflection for the InterDisciplinary Group meeting of Bridge Hospice Central Coast - Tue 01/03/2023.]

Some Thoughts upon the Occasion of Another New Year:

Legend has it that at the trial condemning him to death Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

 While I believe that’s true, some of us, especially those of us with anxiety disorders of various types, have found that “analysis brings paralysis.” It’s possible for any of us to spend all of our time examining life, and hesitate to make decisions, take action, and live our lives.

I think that’s what the 14^th Century Zen priest Mumon Gensen was getting at when he wrote:

“Life is like a cloud of mist

Emerging from a mountain cave,

And death

A floating moon

In its celestial course.

If you think too much

About the meaning they may have,

You’ll be bound forever

Like an ass to a stake.”

From the sound of a conversation in the movie Tombstone, I think Doc Holliday would agree. He’s on his death-bed in a sanitarium at Glenwood Springs, Colorado. During one of their frequent visits, he asks his friend Wyatt Earp, “What did you ever want?” Earp’s reply: “Just to live a normal life.” Holliday scoffs at the idea, saying, “There’s no normal life, Wyatt. It’s just life. Get on with it.”

I’m not keen on resolutions. But I do think the first week of a New Year is a good time to consider where we want to be by the end of next December. Just don’t think about it too long. Examine your circumstances. Make your decisions. And get on with it: Life your life.