New Year's Resolution

New Year's resolutions are for people not already on a path. If you're on the path, you just keep on the path. There's ethics, study, fellowship, devotion and meditation. Whatever issues you're working with can be worked on by those 5 major practices of Buddhism.

This year I may be trying to let go of this thing instead of that thing, but whatever, the intensity of my friendships, psychotherapy work, recovery work, journaling, focusing, non-violent communication, whatever, will support the identification and advancement of issues, and the direct study of ancient texts, thinking, reflection, ethical reflections, really engaging in being ethical, not hurting people, not stealing anything, communicating positively, avoiding intoxicants, maybe even trying to not get intoxicated while watching soccer. 

I'm always working on various things, but New Years it's time to think bigger maybe, on the yearly level. I can never think that way. Keep working the same issues on a larger scale? Be more in the moment? Grind harder on the insight tetrad when I'm doing anapanasati? Should I cling less to the joy of meditation? I don't think so, I enjoy it and move on to the focus of the meditation, the 16 stages of anapanasati, or the stages of the various Brahma Viharas. In formless meditation, I just rest in awareness, fending off the temptation to pick up what my mind throws at me. 

Which reminds me of an Annie Edison quote from Community: "Your last blow-off class taught me to live in the moment, which I will always regret, and never do again."

This year I resolve to appreciate humor and word play.