Not Even The Illusion of Effort

New Year's Resolutions are awesome. I make them every year. I break them every January 4th. In the past, my resolutions have been to keep a journal, read the Daily Bible or just work my way through it, read CS Lewis Daily Readings, workout, lose weight, gain weight, blah blah blah. Additionally, I abandon those resolutions on January 4 of every year, and abandon the illusion that I will pick it up again on January 10.

Don't believe me? In my parents attic I have four Mead journals dated 1/1 - 1/3 for 1997-2000. I've read Genesis 9 times. At least last year I joined a gym. In May.

What were my resolutions this year: Read Daily Bible (haven't taken it off the shelf). Blog more (try for once a day), stick to my workout schedule, and pray more. How am I doing? well, i didn't blog for 9 days (and really, like 60 days before that, sorry, I missed you, too.) I've driven past another gym I don't belong to when I picked up dinner the other night, and let's just all agree that I always need to pray more.

What am I surprised by? This year, I put no illusion of effort. I literally woke up on January 1 and said, "f**k it. I'll start it before January ends, but I'm reprioritizing everything. Number one, pray more. The rest should probably follow."

So here we are on Jan 10, or Abandon Fruitless Efforts Day on my calendar. And I'm blogging. Part of the reason for me to read stuff daily this year was to fill my blogs with substance. In that perspective, what have I frequently filled my day with that can provide sustenance to my blog? I've watched three episodes of Rome. That's more or less it. It's really good.

[Well done, Greg.]

-G