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While I appreciate a fresh “reset” after the holidays (autumn is an intensely busy month at my job, which leads straight into the holidays which can feel chaotic in their own way).... and I love being back to routine....I have found over the years just getting back to a state of normalcy is resolution enough. It’s a time to rest after harvest & holidays. I used to feel the pressure to start new habits but the truth is I find it a time to get back to old habits I miss that serve me well.

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Jan 4, 2023Liked by S.E. Reid

You’re so right! We’ve somehow managed to get everything so backwards, or back to front, or upside down or…well, not correct. We’ve somehow decided to make it as hectic and stressful as possible to forcibly ensure we get to enjoy (endure?) the season for, “peace upon earth”. In the Kingdom of God it’s often helpful I find to view it as a topsy-turvy affair (the first shall be last and…etc.). However, I feel this is a topsy-turviness that we did to ourselves and it doesn’t seem helpful 🤔

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Jan 4, 2023Liked by S.E. Reid

I tend to view the new year season as a well timed fresh start. By the end of the year I am usually so burdened with regrets I am grateful for an opportunity to forget it all and think about what lessons I have learned and what I will do differently. I used to charge into each new year thinking "this is going to be different!" and after a few years of things...not being different, I decided to approach resolutions a little more cautiously.

The Catholic Church, I have found, structures this time well. The liturgical new year begins with Advent, which is a season of preparation ahead of the Nativity--so the liturgical year begins with "getting ready" and then jumps into the joyful Christmastide, then we get a few weeks of ordinary time before going back into another season of preparation--Lent. Lent leads us right into spring, warm weather, sunny days--so it naturally lends my thought a sense of blooming, of coming up and out--dare I say, even a resurrection.

In short, it feels like my preparation receives a little reward in Christmas, and then the Church bends to the task of preparing for Easter--so my resolutions evolve into penances before they sprout into habits and bloom into lifestyle changes.

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I like how you look at it of a long period of preparation that actually starts with the Christmas season. This really resonates with me, as I have struggled to find its place in the natural cycle. Easter seems to be the time where intentions turn into actions for me as well. Thanks for sharing this.

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