NEW YEAR'S FULFILLMENTS

Everyone makes new resolutions at this time of the year. Starting new, reapplying themselves to desired goals, committing to making certain changes in how they've been conducting their lives. And this can be a good thing.

But it's also a fairly standard expectation that most of us fail to keep those resolutions for the whole year, or even more than a couple of months (or weeks).

So I decided that this year, I'd look at this season of annual renewal from a different perspective.

I'm not going to resolve to get certain things done, or to make certain changes. I'm going to fulfill the intentions.

I will finish my fantasy novel The Ring of Adonel, this year (possibly by the end of summer). I have been pecking away at this since last summer, but I have not yet applied myself diligently to the process. I'm changing that as of now. I want to fulfill the promise of the work - because in reviewing the manuscript, trying to get back into it, I've been surprised and pleased by the fact that it is rather good.

One way or another, I mean to get my book on mythic motifs for writers (The Scribbler's Guide to the Land of Myth) into print. This is, admittedly, conditional, because I'm waiting on my artist to be able to do some drawings of the Muse that I want to include (plus the cover drawing). As he's rather living the "life of Job" right now, that's been delayed. But I do everything I can to help him.

I will get back to regular maintainence of my website (www.scribblerworks.us). This has been neglected since last spring, due to time and computer problems. But I've already addressed the computer problems (loading the webpage builder onto the laptop, so I can work on the site wherever I am, not just when I'm at home). I'm planning on changing to news section to a blog format, so I don't have to do a whole page download, just to add something to the news (I'll be looking into that this week). And I'll be adding more images to the site (getting the camera connected, plus working toward getting a new flatbed scanner, to scan artwork).

I've been overturning my apartment environment for the last six months, and that process is almost complete. So I'll be fulfilling that shortly. It's already brought a change in my attitude, to have access to my drawing board once again.

And I'll be working on artwork again, fulfilling those creative impulses.

I realize that these sound very much like resolutions. And I suppose they are indeed basically similar. But I've come to feel that we tend to approach "resolution" as "I'm going to try and do these things, but I could fail." And right now... I'm feeling in sync with Yoda: "Do. Or do not. There is no try."

I want to reach the end of the year with a true sense of accomplishment, of fulfillment. I ended 2007 in a rather satisfying way, because I had been applying myself to things. I want more of that for this new year. And more importantly, I think it will please God that I strive to fulfill these things and not just "resolve to try" them. And that's the most important aspect.