On the cusp of a new beginning with the New Year...

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Feast of the Holy Family

Rome, Italy

Like a moth fatally drawn to a flame, each new year I eagerly write up my resolutions, and often oblige my family to do the same. And, predictably, each New Year's Eve I look back upon that twelve-month-old list and write down the same goals on the new list. Well, this year I may have finally learned my lesson and found a new approach to goal-making. The first thing is to get rid of goals! Allow me to explain.

Back in December of 2021 I made a public resolution to create a lesson plan for Calendar Class, along with an explanatory video, for each and every day of 2022. And I actually did it! It was the first time in my entire life that I had so consistently and successfully achieved a goal. The reason for the success, I believe, was due to the pressure of public accountability, along with the fact that I derive so many enjoyable benefits from the daily practice of Calendar Class. And, as one good thing usually leads to another, other positive developments occurred as a result of the adoption of this new daily habit-- I woke up before dawn to have time to research, I got out to see the sunrise on my bike and toured around the empty streets of Rome while I was at it, my health and diet significantly improved, my energy levels sky rocketed, and I had something fun and valuable to offer to my family and community of students every evening when I presented Calendar Class.

2022 finished on a successful note, and I gave myself permission to take a break from the strict daily routine. As it turns out, it was providential timing because a new priority took over when our youngest daughter became seriously ill and the rest of the year was spent ensuring her complete recovery would be accomplished by the end of 2023. Thanks be to God, and competent doctors and strong medicines, that goal has been achieved and she will soon be off all medication.

Now, with a new year looming ahead in just a few hours, it's time to make a new Calendar Class resolution for 2024. First of all, I've come to realize that goals are really something that need to be thought of as continual formation- not a one year project. So, I've recategorized those type of ambitions as "priorities", which are based on my life principles. The simple formula is this: principles + priorities + daily practices = results. A resolution, on the other hand, is something NEW for the new year, that will be undertaken on January 1st and "accomplished" (if applicable to your particular type of resolution) within that year.

So, with this in mind, here are the 2024 Calendar Class resolutions for which I will be publicly accountable :

1. Creation of a new website

2. Creation of a homemade Book of Days binder for all our Four Season Schole documents

3. Creation of a Treasure Chest for Family Hearth Ritual

4. A SAVERS routine tracker wall poster

5. A Kirkos Caravan repertoire, to be performed this summer

6. Some kind of Four Season Schole event every Sunday, whether just a simple nature study stroll after Mass or a feast for friends and family

7. And finally, and perhaps most ambitiously, enjoying every single sunrise and sunset of 2024, as health and weather will allow.

Who's with me? :) Carpe Diem, and welcome baby New Year!