Try A New Year’s Revolution
January 2, 2017
It’s that time of year again…when most of us make promises (resolutions) to ourselves, and perhaps others, that, more often than not, we do not keep.
We promise to cut down on foods that are not healthy, give up our couch potato lifestyles, lose weight, give up any number of bad habits, go to church more often, volunteer, grow and can our own vegetables, organize a book club, take up skydiving, get the band back together…. And, on and on. All good ideas, with the possible exception of the skydiving thing, but often no more likely to come true this year than last, or the year before that.
Consequently, one can ‘t help but think – after years of failure – that it might be a trifle easier to add a totally new “positive” than to attempt delete a “negative” or improve on habits so ingrained as to be nearly impossible to alter. With that fact in mind, why not decide to create a New Year’s Revolution that has some chance of succeeding?
Become a revolutionary? No need to panic….No one is suggesting that you take up arms to start your revolution. This is more of a bloodless coup idea, which need not involve any more than an army of one. You. Or, me, for that matter. All you need is a good idea based on a noble motive, and off you go to change the world.
Jesus was a rebel in His day, a rebel who turned the Roman Empire and the Jewish religious establishment on their collective ears. Jesus didn’t necessarily intend to start a revolution, but His teaching about God, the relevance of Biblical law and the central importance of love in all things did exactly that.
Joan of Arc was a rebel, centuries later at the age of eighteen, leading the armies of France against her enemies, the English, in one segment of The Hundred Years’ War. Martin Luther was a rebel, whose desire to reform the church was a major factor in the Reformation. Martin Luther King, Junior was a rebel, applying the principles of passive resistance to issues of racial discrimination and inequality.
You, too, can be a rebel….and you do not necessarily have to risk being crucified, burned at the stake or assassinated to tout a worthy cause.
Ralph Nader has spent a lifetime holding governments and corporations accountable; and he is still going strong at age 82. Margaret Sanger and Susan B. Anthony championed women’s rights and quality of life. Both accomplished their goals and died as little old ladies in their late eighties.
Perhaps more realistically, there are individuals or small groups, who see a need or have a constructive idea, and then work toward filling the need or applying the idea. People in various organizations join the revolt by opening soup kitchens or offering free dinners. School children use the proceeds from recycled cans and bottles to not only fund their school and band trips, but to finance a variety of charitable causes.
Most often, this is done on a local basis. Knitters making hats and mittens, quilters creating simple, warm coverings, volunteers stirring up soups and casseroles to feed the hungry…..all change the world, one cold or hungry person at a time. Once the hats and mittens are made, the quilts are finished, and the food is hot, others distribute them to the homeless and needy.
Anyone can start or join a Revolution. There’s plenty of room for new soldiers in any cause. Needs are great and the hands required to help fill them can never be too many. If you can’t be on the “front lines,” as in missionary work or social service, you can be an undercover agent for kindness, generosity and social justice in your own neighborhood. Smile more, spread love, share random acts of kindness.
Go visit a friend or a neighbor…especially one who’s been needing a visit, a shut-in or someone who’s been housebound for any reason. As a dear friend always says, “The most valuable gift you have to give is your time.” Invite someone to church, if you’re a church-goer. If it’s just not in you to invite a friend to church, invite them to a church supper or other event. Be involved in something you have never done before, such as youth activities, Sunday School (O, we don’t have one?? But, we could, if “someone” would just lead the cause!), or take a turn at volunteering at school, work or in the community at large.
When you go to the doctor’s office or the barber, leave an inspirational or other uplifting publication with the reading materials. Who knows what heart could be touched by one wholesome, positive little story? It won’t happen unless one of us takes the initiative to throw out a lifeline. The possibilities are only limited by time, desire and imagination.
Simplify your life, recycle and help others all at once by distributing to others the perfectly usable “stuff” that clutters your house. Don’t just kick it to the curb for the trash collectors, unless it really is no good to anyone. Although, it is possible that something one of us might consider utterly useless could be turned into a prize by another person with more creative ability or more desperation.
Donate whatever you neither want nor need to charities or places such as Salvation Army or Volunteers of America. Some will even pick up what you have to offer, especially if it involves furniture. Passing gently used items to young folks who are just getting started on their own (or to victims of house fires) can be very helpful. And, when all else fails, just setting it out at the end of the driveway or at the curb, where anyone interested can pick it up, is a surprisingly efficient way to redistribute goods of all kinds. One very dear friend has what she refers to as the “free table” out by the mailbox. Countless treasures have been offered up and happily carted away from that outlet.
Heaven knows we should eat healthier, if we can. Lose weight, sky dive or exercise, if we must. But, most importantly, make this a year to grow, by doing something for the big world out there beyond ourselves. Become a New Year’s Revolutionary and follow in the footsteps of rebels of the past.