Resolutions revisited (and expanded)

Having things settling down once more I had a look at my resolutions – really too scant. So I have decided to flesh it out.

Sustainability
Firstly, while I had resolved that I would reduce consumption and be a ecologically responsible parent I really needed to be more specific. This year I shall try to focus on two areas:

1) reducing my energy consumption and;
2) reducing my waste output.

What this mainly translates into is commuting less or using less damaging means of transport, rethinking our buying habits and home-grown food production efforts, and being a sustainability role model to my children.

Buddhism
This year I resolve to meditate on a regular basis, say, at least three times a week. I really need to make it clear that I believe that a significant part of Buddha’s thinking is meditation. Many Buddhists seem to believe meditation isn’t a necessary part of being Buddhist. Lay practise is one area this is most obvious. But without meditation as part of the practise you will not be able to distinguish it from a religion or philosophy, which by the way I do not believe it is either.

On the point of religion the defining characteristic is usually the worship of a god, gods or some other greater power. Since Buddha never claimed god status, but considered himself an ordinary person, then it cannot be truly called a religion in the Judeo-Christo-Islamic sense. And on the point of philosophy the practise of meditation together with physical and mental discipline again makes it different. Philosophy is usually about a way of thought. So it seems practise is neither an issue nor necessary to philosophy. And so on this count it cannot be considered a true philosophy in the Socratic-to-Russell sense also. Therefore in order to make “my Buddhism” count as Buddhism I believe I must meditate.

Parenthood
Apart from my previous resolve to teach my son and daughter about sustainable living and responsibility to sustainability I also need to spend as much time with them as possible. With studies and work my time with them in the past year has been considerably less than I (and they) would like. After all, these are said to be the most important years in their social, mental and physical development. To not nurture them in this crucial period would be neglecting my duties as a parent. It is easy to forget and just continue to act as before like in my bachelorhood or childless past.

Blogging
While it might seem ridiculous to make a resolution on a pastime like blogging I beg to differ. Blogging as a medium of expression is no less important than writing,say, a thesis or book. As a matter of fact blogging has helped me learn to write in some very important ways. Although 2007 would not be counted as a great year for my blogging I had learnt through the experience that what makes for good blogging or writing is time and effort. When I began blogging in 2006 I had more time on my hands and therefore I was able to proofread and edit my writing. In 2007 however that changed and I didn’t have the luxury of time and therefore did considerably less of both if any at all. As so as an unintentional experiment I was able to see that proofreading and editing plays a big part in whether one’s writing is successful or not. Looking back I think my writing was good in 2006 though still a little rough. So I resolve to reproduce at least that standard once more, if not better.

I also will try to make time toward the weekends to write something. Some semblance of routine I will need to create.