New Year’s resolution

EDITORIAL MUG: Editorial art Vertical

More than four thousand years ago, ancient Babylonians (is there any other kind?) would pledge to do better in the coming year, making the first recorded New Year’s resolutions.

Although their resolutions were more along the lines of finally paying off their debts and swearing fealty to their ruler rather than going to the gym more often, they did still celebrate with plenty of alcohol, so we can imagine that then, just as now, many of those resolutions that had seemed like good ideas at the time were already falling by the wayside by the time the calendar flipped from Arah Nisanu to Arah Aru.

In the intervening millennia, resolutions have become a little more self-centered, aimed toward self-improvement.

The past two years have not lent themselves to focusing on fulfilling our New Year’s resolutions, and COVID-19 has in some ways exacerbated our worst impulses and accelerated our turn inward in an already polarized and tribal culture.

Especially throughout the pandemic that has reared its head once again now, we have retreated to the safety and comfort of not only our homes, but to places where we are most comfortable ideologically and culturally — where no one will threaten us with new ideas or uncomfortable truths.

And in a time of stress in every walk of life, who can be blamed for looking for comfort within?

This year, instead of resolving to find new ways to improve yourself, we encourage a resolution to make the world around us a little more welcoming for everyone else. How many times has a kindness from a stranger made a difference in your own day, or your own outlook? How many times a week do we have an opportunity to be that kindness and compassion for someone else, and how many times do we take it, even when it costs us very little?

Though we can’t bring our home with us out into the world, we can bring our comfort with us, and spread it to others.

It’s a resolution that we know we will not live up to every day. But even if it’s only a New Year’s aspiration, building the ties between us that make us a community is always a worthy goal — even if it only lasts through Arah Aru.