Area religious leaders offer advice for New Year's resolutions

Sparta - Just three weeks into 2006, many resolutions made with good intentions for the New Year already lie in ruins. And that, according to area clergy, is the problem with the traditional way of approaching personal improvement and a fresh calendar. “Jan. 1 abounds with New Year’s resolutions which are often broken before Feb. 1,” said Janice Billera, Interim Spiritual Leader at the Unity Church of Sussex County in Lafayette. According to Billera just the use of the word “resolution” puts people on the defensive, because it implies severe discipline, or an intense state of resolve to guarantee success. “At Unity (church), we make intentions instead of resolutions. Most resolutions are made to effect an outside change in appearance or circumstances, whereas intentions are meant to create a shift in attitudes, beliefs and patterns of behavior, which then result in new circumstances,” said Billera, who compared the effort of changing only the outside to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and expecting the ship not to sink. Instead of making a resolution to lose weight Billera proposed, people should make the intention to eat right and get a healthy body. According to Pastor Alec Park of the Vernon United Methodist Church individuals sometimes tend to forget the real issues, when making New Year’s resolutions. “If you want to change the outside, you must first focus on the inside,” said Park. “Rather than just altering the outside appearance we need to look deeper at our inner selves first and recognize what needs to be changed within as individuals and as people as a whole.” For Park, the answers can only be achieved through some soul searching. Park suggests not only making resolutions but also revolutions. “Revolutions, meaning a way to change the person we are … an attempt to delve deeper into the changes we feel we need to make by creating new years resolutions,” said Park. “Once we make revolutions, we may find that superficial changes are not necessary.” Rosh Hashanah is the actual Jewish new year. According to Jewish faith, it is a time of forgiveness and reflection, when God judges the world. According to Rabbi Lewis of the Chabad of Sussex County in Sparta, Rosh Hashanah is similar to Jan. 1, in the sense of reflection and resolutions. Both provide a reason for people to reflect on their past and glimpse into their future, if only in their imaginations. “The difference is that Rosh Hashanah, which means head of the New Year, has serious undertones dealing mainly with spiritual resolutions and relationships that pertain to man and God and man and man and how we act towards one another,” said Lewis. Rosh Hashanah not only reflects on the immediate past, but also celebrates the creation of Adam and Eve, and the birth of mankind. “Find spiritual meaning in everything you do,” said Lewis. “As a society our focus should be to always give the benefit of the doubt to other people that we come in contact with. Be more understanding and patient and try to find merit with others.” Could the answer to overall personal improvement be steeped in faith? Whether a person’s religion worships a God, Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, or Allah, in a church, a temple or a mosque, clergy share a common goal: To have parishioners leave their services feeling personally satisfied, renewed and educated in their faith. Leave feeling prepared to begin a new week, feeling better about their lives. Organizations such as Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous among the many, might agree in the idea that successful personal growth requires more than a desire for change. Their recovery program is based on a 12-step program designed with a higher power as the nucleus, as well as the support, or cheering if you will, of others in the same circumstances. This support is what can make a difference in faith-based resolutions. “When making New Year’s resolutions and working towards other life changing goals, support is always important in the process. It’s the idea that you know someone else is cheering you on, helping you stay strong,” said Elsie Walker a freelance writer specializing in religious subject matters, and certified lay speaker for the United Methodist Church. “That ’someone’ could be other people who share your faith and traditions.”