Tag: new-year

New Year’s Pledges

Abdias do Nascimento, 1973, African Symbiosis No. 3

The symbol of ouroboros, a serpent eating its tail, is presumed to come from ancient Egypt. A 14th century BCE Egyptian religious text found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb held the earliest known ouroboros (from Greek words oura, meaning tail, and boros, meaning eating). The symbol was associated with the Egyptian goddess Wadjet, representing the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. Wadjet often was depicted as a cobra, but she also might have the form of a lioness or a woman. The ouroboros serpent offers us a reminder of ancient wisdom and present healing. The shedding of a snake’s skin suggests symbolic regeneration where humans might release old habits and renew or heal themselves.

Also, the ouroboros captures the notion of unity. In Norse traditions, the ouroboros serpent Jörmungandr was believed to wrap itself around the entire world. The ouroboros in Hindu cosmology represents a foundational holding up of Earth. Gnostic philosophers (2nd century BCE) considered the ouroboros symbol as representing dual natures – life and death, male and female, light and dark, mortality and divinity. The ouroboros in African spirituality considers the cycles of life as constant looping — every ending leads to a new beginning. This looping is a useful metaphor for ending one year and welcoming the new year.

The first-recorded custom of celebrating the new year and setting resolutions (initially called pledges) comes to us from 4000 years ago in ancient Babylonia (modern-day Iraq) when the new year began in mid-March at planting time. We in the Western world celebrate the coming year in January ever since Roman king Numa Pompilius (who ruled from 715-673 BCE) decided to replace March as the “first” month. Some scholars credit Numa as originator of January, named for Roman god Janus, a god of all beginnings. March celebrated a different deity, Mars, the god of war.

It seems unbelievable that so many centuries later, wisdom is at a premium and war is a constant preoccupation. What might our planet accomplish if we pledged to shed our warring ways? How long will it take for healing traumas in a way that does not destroy one’s so-called “enemies?” A pledge for world peace seems like a distant reality, but each one of us can see what we might do in our own families and communities to plant peace.    

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung adopted the ouroboros as a psychological archetype to signify the human desire to continually regenerate or be “reborn.” Whenever you decide that it is a new year for you, you can plant seeds for a good crop of attitudes and actions, a fresh field of possibilities for tomorrow. As songwriter Martin Charnin’s lyrics from the musical Annie remind us, “…tomorrow, tomorrow / I love ya tomorrow / You’re always, a day away.”    

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

355. What needs regeneration in your life for a meaningful tomorrow?

356. How many pledges will you make, and more importantly, keep, in this new year? 

A Resolution Roadmap

A recent YouGov poll found that only 16% of Brits had any intentions of making New Year’s Resolutions this year, with women more likely to engage in the practice than men; this is down from 63% in the same poll in 2015. Americans appear more inclined – YouGov polling reports 34% for making New Year’s intentions for 2024.

However, according to researchers, the percentage of Americans who complete their resolutions is only 9% while 23% OF FOLKS GIVE UP ON THEIR RESOLUTIONS AT THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK AND 43% SWERVE OFF COURSE BY THE END OF JANUARY.

Is tradition unappealing to people today? Or is goal-setting too daunting these days? Did setting unrealistic goals overwhelm individuals in past years? Perhaps people wanted rewards for their accomplishments and found no pleasure in waiting for any affirmation after their hard-earned effort.    

Here are some “rules-of-the-road” for making your resolution a reality:

  1. Expect a snafu or two — something unaccounted for may temporarily obstruct your path of completion – keep going.

  2. To make your new habit stick, you may need to keep repeating it for a minimum of 66 days, according to some research. (This is another way of hinting, “Keep going.”)

  3. Break down your resolution into chunks so that you can realize and celebrate small victories along the journey.

  4. Make some plans for accountability. Write your resolution on paper and attach it to a place you will see it often. If exercising or eating healthy choices are your resolutions, perhaps you enlist the help of a friend or coach to support your efforts.

Actually, I endorse setting a resolution anytime of the year. I like the approach of Chilean American writer Isabel Allende. When she was forced to leave her homeland during a military coup that resulted in the assassination of her relative, Salvador Allende, she wanted to keep her family memories alive. She began writing a series of unmailed letters when her 99-year-old grandfather was dying in Chile and she could not visit him. Allende’s letter-writing turned into a 500-page first novel, The House of the Spirits. Allende began her writing January 8th; she waits for that day to begin each new novel.

Allende certainly faced a major snafu in life, but she had grit, defined by psychologist Angela Duckworth as passion plus persistence. She kept writing (for more than 66 days). By writing letters, she broke down her writing into chunks. I wonder if she had an accountability partner, but maybe having 3 out of 4 “rules-of-the-road” works too.

I call making any-day-of-the-year resolutions rewiring! Brains love novelty, so you will find energy by focusing on a desired change. While it takes a growth-and-grit mindset to make some change in your life, you can succeed if you KEEP GOING!

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

251. What resolution do you want to make happen in 2024?

252. How will you include plans for making your intention come true?