Two-Faced?

by Colleen Gleason

We're six days into 2006. How are those New Year's resolutions holding up? It's still pretty early, so I'm thinking we're all still on the right track. (I am...except for that plate of nachos Tammy made me order last night...) (In my defense, I didn't eat them all. Not even close.)

Anyway. I'm pleased with my progress on my resolutions, and I give big kudos to everyone else who has stuck to their diet, exercise, and production goals so far. Keep it up!

Many of you probably know that the month of January was named after the deity Janus, and that his image is one of two faces: looking back (old) and looking ahead (young). Fittingly, Janua means "the gate that opens the year." What a wonderful image...the door of a new calendar year opening.

It was at the turn of the New Year that the Romans made their own resolutions, hoping for forgiveness from their enemies and exchanging presents.

H. P. Blavatsky writes

Let no one imagine that it is a mere fancy, the attaching of importance to the birth of the year. The earth passes through its definite phases and man with it; and as a day can be coloured, so can a year. The astral life of the earth is young and strong between Christmas and Easter. Those who form their wishes now will have added strength to fulfil them consistently.

So it's not just a date on the calendar. The New Year truly is a movement of our earth that wants us to make changes and to look ahead, after reviewing what lies behind. It's so hard, though, and in his book The Friendly Philosopher, Robert Crosbie suggests:

All have doubtless made New Year's resolutions, and all, no doubt, have failed to keep them. There must be reason for our failures....The reason for our failures is that we do not understand our own natures. Our first mistake is to make negative resolutions. We say, I will not drink; I will not lie; I will not do this; I will not do that. Whereas the proper resolve to make is that—I will do this, the opposite of what we are now doing. In this case, we make a direct affirmation of the will, while the other form of resolution puts us in a purely negative position.

So if you're having trouble keeping your resolutions...turn them positive. Remember the story about Jim Carrey? He wrote himself a $10 million check one New Year's Day, and resolved to make it reality.

We all know how that turned out.

posted by Colleen Gleason @ 9:14 AM