New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the special holiday for hope.  I'm not sure how much can enter into the boundaries of hope-  was Queen Elizabeth hopeful when she spoke of leaving her annus horribilis behind her, or was she merely wishful?  I'm not sure.  The power of hope is not in wishfulness, and neither is the power of faith for that matter; a topic I intend to write more about in this coming year.

In the local paper this morning was a report on First Night.  Apparently the Raleigh version of the event included a Resolution Oak Tree, where you could hang your resolution.  Considering how unfortunate it is to have your resolutions revealed with your name on the front page of a newspaper section, I'll be fair and reveal mine later.  This is what The News & Observer reported:

     Amid resolutions to lose weight and get organized were promises to "Make NC a Better Place," "Give Back to Others" and "Be More Green."
     Julie and Michael Massey of Raleigh made resolutions meant to start the new year off fresh.  Hers: "To love and forgive like a child."  His: "To be a better person."

I am someone who has over almost two year lost nearly 100 lbs. and kept off 75, so I know a thing or two about the Most Popular New Year's Resolution in America.  Those things probably apply pretty well to New Year's Resolutions in general.  The more I think about it, the more I believe that Fromm's four requirements for love (I looked it up this time) also apply to hope.  The union is so clear that it brings up the question of whether hope can be defined as an act of love; perhaps it can.  Fromm's requirements for love are: care, responsibility, respect and knowledge. (The Art of Loving, p. 24)

Ultimately, a hope with no bearing on reality is just as wish.  It takes care and responsibility to bring a wish to reality, and a plan is the only way I know to do that.  A wish with no respect and knowledge is a flimsy thing that has no connection with the power of hope (or of faith or of love). My New Year's Resolutions come into my mind already in a format that falls somewhere between wish and action:

• Onederland. (A body weight that starts with a one.)
• Forty miles of training per week. (A minimum goal that I was already meeting through 2007.)
• Six hours with the French language per week. (A couple of days ago I was claiming 9 as the commitment, but let's call 9 the "reach" goal.)
• Return to a cash-based lifestyle. (After several years of living on cash, I had drifted over to my credit card with poor results.)
• Remove from my house the things that are not useful, beautiful or meaningful. (These categories are based on David Allen's Getting Things Done, but at the moment I cannot find his specific list of things one should have vs. not have.)

As a fairly concrete thinker, it takes effort for me to backtrack from hope to wish.  I am suspicious of any New Year's Resolution that is termed in wishfulness, and I give low marks to the likelihood of such resolutions ever reaching reality.  However, reviewing my list, I can see some value in wishfulness, perhaps the ultimate "why" of my activities.  Wishfulness backs up a step, presents some other alternatives.  I suppose if someone starts at wishfulness it might not be so bad, but after starting there hope and action do have to come back to earth in their proper stages.

Hope hovers just above where the rubber meets the road.  In making a New Year's Resolution I am the kid that has wound up the car and is just about to set it down, in whichever direction I choose to go.  Perhaps that choice of direction is nothing more than wishfulness.  Hope says that it won't sputter and stop, the gears won't spring apart when confronted by tall carpeting, the dog won't grab my toys and drop them in the bushes.  From where I have had success, I say make a plan- smooth out the path, where possible tie up the dog, and let those New Year's Hopes roll.