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What’s New in 2013?

What’s the potential of the “new” in this New Year of 2013? It is easy to be a bit cynical about New Year’s resolutions and the way they seem to fall off a cliff in short order. Perhaps we don’t think hard enough about our life trajectory (calling) or dig deep enough to find truly empowering sources of inspiration and motivation. Are we too thin, too flaky, too distracted by the trendy eye candy, spending too much time on Facebook? Our posture or stance towards the future makes all the difference; it is easy to give up, burn out and fail, hard to stay with the good plan for the long run and succeed in a substantial way. Talk to a student specializing in medical surgery: How many years have you been training? Do we focus on our potential problems, vexing struggles and difficult relationships, or on our calling to proceed with a robust vision for the year ahead, the contribution ahead? We think it is quite worth the time to take a day out to focus hard on our mission or life passion and evaluate how we are doing (clear the mind, deepen the reslove). What will shape the core of our being, our becoming, our emerging self? What is sustainable? Each of us can add something if we have the kind of open eyes and open mind that can capture the real possibilities of life. Time to wake up to our present situation, to live into our potentialities and opportunities.

• New resolve to go deeper, further, reach higher
• New hard core hope
• New relationships and commitment to the good of others
• New angle on my research
• New creativity I didn’t know existed
• New language to master in my field
• New depth to my fundamental commitments
• New strength to and joy in my covenants
• New redemptive turn in my life and work environment
• New breakthrough in the field
• New publication to go public with my discoveries, rooted in patience, sweat and struggle
• New people in my support structure; new partners in the passion I nurture
• New humanism; new compassion; new good faith in other people
• New peace negotiations in conflict zones
• New redemption of my narrative self, of my family and community
• New courage to pursue and practice the good, the true, the beautiful I can see (but am frightened by)
• New luminary author to add inspiration to life
• New financial support of my research
• New creation in Christ; new life practicing God’s presence; new energy from walking in step with the Spirit

What’s new about a new year? Everything.

~Gord Carkner