We are soon going to ring in New Year 2019 with much hope. New Year is the time when we tend to make new resolutions: Waking up early morning to exercise regularly and shed some extra fat to look young, reading the Bible completely within a year, and even quitting smoking or boozing.
I know a friend of mine who once took a New Year resolution to become a teetotaller. He was addicted to booze and unable to wean himself off the heady concoctions. Routinely, in the evening after office, he would gulp down foreign liquor from a bar and local grog from a house where liquor was illegally brewed. By the time he reached home, his spouse would start cussing and beating him. The next morning, he would take a decision not to touch liquor, but by evening, his mood would completely change and he would crave alcohol.
One New Year day, this man took a solemn oath in front of his loving wife that he would not touch liquor anymore. He earnestly stopped taking in liquor for two weeks. Everyone praised him for his strong decision and its upkeep. Unfortunately, after two weeks, he went for an outing along with his friends. That again awakened his thirst for liquor and thus his New Year resolution fell flat.
One day, I encountered an octogenarian who was a broker by profession. He used to come to my house as he had been told to ask a prospective buyer to purchase land that I decided to dispose of to raise money. His wife was a sweeper in a government department, and she used to buy a bottle of liquor from her nearby beverage outlet for both of them to drink in the evening. They had no children. Apart from boozing, he smoked a large number of cigarettes per day. On a New Year day, at my behest, he took a decision to quit smoking. I diligently asked him about it for some days. He then never came to my house nor did I see him thereafter.
My New Year resolution this year is to spend more quality time with my children at home. Last year too, I took this decision but the fervour fizzled out due to various reasons.
New Year resolutions are a welcome thing even if they are abandoned midway. An earnest effort like a decision to do good to others or do something constructive makes our life meaningful. But it will be even more meaningful if we are successful in implementing the resolution.
T K Nandanan
Email: nanduthejus@gmail.com