The Search is On….

As we close in on the end of 2024 and look toward the new year, of 2025, there is a somewhat long-standing tradition over the years with a new year to list some New Year’s Resolutions, things we hope to improve upon in our lives during the new year. One of the most popular, over the decades, I am told by Alexa, is to eat healthier food and lose weight.

 Over the years I have participated in this “resolution” activity and a few days before the new year I take a piece of paper and list several things I would like to change in my life and post the list on the refrigerator door, where the list  would serve as a constant reminder of what I hoped to change in order to make me a better person. To ensure that I did not repeat any of the items on my list in the new year, I went on a search to find last year’s list.

   It has been a while since I have seen that list, truthfully, probably since early January of 2024. Like many, resolutions tend to be forgotten a day or two into the year, and life goes on pretty much as we have become accustomed to, eating food we had for a moment may have considered unhealthy or cleaning out the closet of clothing we no longer wore (because it didn’t  fit! ) or making sure we had the oil changed in the car on a regular basis.

  The lesson here is that making changes in our lives can be challenging and in some cases is something that cannot be done alone and needs the support and help of those around us. And what we find is that in many cases we are not alone in our attempts to improve our lives.

   After a brief search and not finding the list I decided to move on and take the risk of developing some resolutions for the new year, hoping that I would not repeat any failures of the past year.

   As I sat down with a fresh cup of coffee and pen in hand, I began to reflect upon the year and some of the experiences that have crossed my path. There were new friends, old friendships rekindled, some new and challenging responsibilities to keep my days busy and of course, some dreams about the future and what life might be like tomorrow.

   I thought a great deal about watching my children and grandchildren grow up and that sometimes it was like looking into a mirror with reflections upon my own life and some of the interesting times and challenges.

   As I thought about what I might want to include on my 2025 New Year’s Resolutions list, I thought about a book I had read this year. It was a “short read” but contained some very thought provoking and interesting perspectives on finding out who we really are as an individual, what we believe and what we value in our lives, why are we who we are and what were those events that had significant influence on your lives, regardless of our age. I questioned myself if my life was really founded on my 78 years of New Year’s Resolutions or was it something else.

   I knew I would not find the 2024 list of New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t remember writing any resolutions for the year, so the need to search for the list was a waste of time but to help navigate each day, the book I found has been extremely helpful. And the title of the book? The Café at the Edge of the World by John Strelecky. I would encourage anyone to get a copy and read it. For me, the idea of understanding my “purpose for existence,” even at my age, was helpful to understand who I am, where I am in my life right now and what my future could be. As a result of the reading, I even keep a small slip of paper in my wallet with what I see as my purpose right now. It’s a great place for a daily reminder as I reach into my wallet to pull out a credit card. For me, that is a lot more effective than the list of New Year’s resolutions taped to the front of the refrigerator. And which by the way, that posted note with the resolutions from the previous years? It had slipped under the refrigerator.