Cooking resolutions are always on the list for New Year’s along with diets and exercise that last maybe a week or a month. If you’re a writer, then writing hits the list as well unless you’re like me. I don’t make yearly resolutions anymore. What I did do was make a promise to never lie to myself. I’m notorious for being blunt with family and friends. I don’t sugarcoat anything because to me that’s the best way to live in our society. Too many people already try to make things look better than they are, and which deludes the truth. Life is too short not to want anything less in my opinion. Paint the picture not a fantasy unless you’re writing fiction. 2024 is simply a different year with the same problems as last year. The truth will set you free and it will also hold you accountable.

I wish more people were accountable like the man or men that took a good man’s life two days after Christmas. The man was happily married with seven children. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ve watched the media coverage and the limited body cam coverage from the police department so many times. I’m not convinced he was shot by the carjacker. The carjacker had previously carjacked two other vehicles and didn’t hurt either one of them. In one of the carjacked vehicles was blood in the driver’s seat which implies the perpetrator was injured so that makes sense why the third vehicle he entered from the passenger side. He needed a driver and sadly that was our family friend. There were shots fired and Jerry’s body was shoved out of the vehicle. It’s still unclear whose bullet stole Jerry’s life. Will we ever know the truth? I don’t know.

What I do know is someone dies everyday as the result of violence. Our American society seems to thrive on violence. We used to place ourselves above other countries because we portrayed a safe and thriving economic picture. But reality like resolutions are simply lies we tell to make ourselves feel better. Yeah, I know I sound cynical. I am. I’m not wearing rose-colored glasses or any other of the famous cliches we use.

Our healthcare is over-priced. Our food costs have risen so the majority of people are facing hard choices like do I buy my medications or food. Will working two jobs be enough to cover basic living expenses? So many people exist trying to rob Peter to pay Paul and are scared that even that won’t be enough.

Homelessness is on the rise. Cities like Portland, Maine closed the shelters because of over-crowding and money so the people exist in camps that the police force to move regularly so the wealthier people don’t have to see. Portland, Maine isn’t the only place that is failing to solve the problem. Los Vegas, Los Angeles, NYC, Chicago etc are all facing the same issues. People can’t balance the basic costs to live.

I’m not sure my husband and I could if we were on our own. We share our home with my daughter and granddaughter and split the expenses. Gandhi said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” We became part of the growing culture of families co-existing because that’s the new norm..

Change is inevitable but at what cost? The two-party system is a joke. The candidates running are owned by lobbyists and big pharma. Neither of them is being impacted by everyday price increases, they’re capitalizing on their profits. You’re either wealthy or poor in our country. I wonder what Einstein would think because he believed the measure of intelligence is the ability to change.

What I do know is Roy Bennett’s philosophy makes sense for everyone not just the wealthy or the poor.

Don’t just learn, experience.
Don’t just read, absorb.
Don’t just change, transform.
Don’t just relate, advocate.
Don’t just promise, prove.
Don’t just criticize, encourage.
Don’t just think, ponder.
Don’t just take, give.
Don’t just see, feel.
Don’t just dream, do.
Don’t just hear, listen.
Don’t just talk, act.
Don’t just tell, show.
Don’t just exist, live.”

If you feel the need to still, make a resolution his philosophy is a good starting point and definitely a step in the right direction without setting yourself up for another failure.