New Year’s Revolutions:

New Year’s Resolutions have not worked out so well for me in the past, so I thought I would try Revolutions instead.  Re-so-lutions set a high bar (standard) after low bar living.  Too high, in fact.  It sets us up for failure. Message is- live slovenly for the exact time it takes to establish well-conditioned habits then turn that bus around after weeks, or a year of binging.  Don’t look at the underlying causes for unsavory behaviors, just ‘fix it’ when it’s conveniently advertised.  

But, it’s never fixed and it’s never convenient.  Scrap the Resolve, look for a revolve. Resolve is finitely myopic. Revolve is circulating pirouettes. Resolution has one answer; (literally re- to go back on a previous solution= resolution). 

Revolution(s), on the other hand, are constantly in motion- as a noun, verb and adjective- pondering, reasoning, questioning.. which is what led to a sudden change in the word revolution- as “a sudden change, or innovation”.  With a specified direction.

Prior to the violent Revolutions of 1848, the word revolution referenced celestial objects.  Earth revolves around the sun and such.  The literal word meant a change in direction. Instead of objects moving in a straight line, they re-volve.  Small planetary changes due to mass, location and gravity.  Planets revolve around a center… 

Which brings me to 2022 New Year’s Revolution.  Small daily changes in the direction of a gravitational pull towards _________. What? Honesty, decency, justice for education? Another existential year of self-experimentation me thinks.

I’d like to discover something new each day;  Appreciate past struggles with resolutions; Adjust to new changes paying particular attention to mass, location and gravity of each situation.

To me revolutions take many forms- and change will be painfully slow, nonviolent, and always in the direction of education. “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” Let’s rock the cradle, preferably in the same direction via revolution with thoughtful, passionate change. 

Happy New Year!