I love New Year’s resolutions. I am addicted to making them and can‘t wait until January 1. Mainly, because of the feeling of starting over, getting another chance, improving and growing that comes as the new year is whisked in. I usually have been made aware of a way I need to improve or something new I want to try. My resolutions often are ludicrous and outlandish. Last year, I wanted to gain 30lbs but instead I lost 3lbs. I made a few others but those no more attainable. I set out with my intention to gain 30lbs of muscle but soon realized the exorbitant amount of food I would have to consume. I came to the realization I would have to eat around 6,000 to 7,000 calories a day. Maybe even more because my amount of exercise and exertion would have to increase exponentially. My second realization that I was ridiculous was the first few times I set out to run I tried to jump back to the last time I seriously ran which was 5 miles every morning 5 years earlier. My body rebelled and I tried to be diligent about stretching. The process to repair my body overwhelmed me and I gave up. In the end I had broken my body and thus my will.
This year I didn’t have any goals or anything in mind. New years came and went. I didn’t have time to think much about it. I didn’t really care but then God started probing and showing me my laziness. My friend Shaun was in town in February and we had a chance to sit and talk. When Shaun and I talk it is like going swimming in a diving tank. There is no shallow water. In the midst of conversations something he said struck me. I can’t even remember how it came up, but he made the comment that at best most people only read about 10 books a year. I thought about it and tried to remember the number of books I had read in 2008 and I couldn’t think of more than a few. I began to think about how crazy that is. Here I am with a college education and I have become illiterate. Sure I read a lot of things on the internet and I start a lot of books but don’t finish them. Then came my resolution. I have another friend, D.O. that has taken up the challenge of taking one photo a day to try to improve as a photographer. My resolution for 2009 is to read one book a week. Maybe it is a habit that will stick the rest of my life but for now I am going to take it one day at a time.
I have been good on my resolution so far since I have made this choice. I am going to use this blog to keep up with what I am reading and my thoughts about the books. Over the next couple of weeks I will try to backtrack and record all of my thoughts on the books I have read up to this point. And for those of you out there scared of books don’t worry I will post other things that you might enjoy. That is if you have time for other peoples thoughts.