The Resolution...

Woaaahhhh buddy 2011 is here, we all have the opportunity to make a resolution to last us at least the first month of the new year. And while I'm jumping on this little band wagon it intrigues me why we chose to make such plans to better ourselves at specifically this time of the year... So I decided to look a little into the origins and in actuality its been going on for quite some time. The tradition of the New Year's Resolution goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, (sounds like some people I know lol) Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year. The New Year has not always begun on January 1, and it doesn't begin on that date everywhere today. It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had. The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year's gifts. In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1. (information courtesy of ezine articles) So while the tradition of resolutions have been around for literally ages the resolution it's self has turned from an external attempt to change or better your situation into an internal one. While old enemies used to bestow gifts upon each other for forgiveness we now decide to start exercising, quit smoking, stop eating fast food, etc etc. I guess it just shows how egocentric our culture has become. Instead of looking outside of our selves bettering our situations with those we have wronged or vice versa, we are constantly fighting the enemies inside ourselves. So food for thought, perhaps this year instead of vaguely attempting to conquer some inner demons why don't we work on repairing our relationships past, those we have wronged, and those who have wronged us. Take a different approach at a resolution of the ages. This world would be such a wonderful place if we could all look each other in the face and say "I forgive you, I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you, etc." How healing for our souls such a new years purging could be! The weight it would take off our shoulders giving us the freedom we never thought we could have. The wise men of old ages saw it fit to do such, and I'm always speaking of returning to the ways things used to be I might just change my take on the resolution to better my life externally, while giving me internal peace. Who's coming with me :) Signing off from the island...