Never once in my life did I meet my New Year resolutions—until 2016. Either I set the bar too high, got discouraged at no instant gratification, or simply ran out of steam. What was the one resolution you made year after year, and never met? I will tell you mine: lose weight. Until 2015. Thereafter? No, it wasn’t losing weight—though I actually did—but that wasn’t my resolution.
It was the summer of 2014, and I was reading books on how to write a book. No, my resolution was not ‘publish a book’, although I did eventually publish. I came across Stephen King’s book, ‘On Writing’, where he makes the point that to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. Got that, no brainer. Then he goes on to say that he reads 75 books a year, and he is a slow reader. Now that got me going. Let’s see. So if I set my goal at 50 books a year—lets not try to be a Stephen King just yet—I should read…I did the math. That is a book a week—almost. 25 books over the next six months. The library and neighborhood bookstores became my best friend. Did I meet my goal? I did not. But I got into the habit of reading, and the TV remained off.
January 1, 2015: I rolled out my New Year resolution: Read A book A Week. Did I meet my goal? No. But I convinced myself that now I was really getting into the habit.
January 1, 2016: Same resolution: A Book A Week/52 books a year.
I did it! By November, I had turned the last page of my 52nd book, and by Dec. 31, I was on book #57. Yoo-hoo!
January 1, 2017: I have a new New Year resolution. Yes, I will continue to read a book a week, maybe more, but the presidential elections have changed the landscape, and with that, our purpose in life. Rather than wait for the new administration to define the place for Muslims in America, we are going to do take charge of our destiny. Surveys tell us people who know a Muslim, are less likely to hold a negative opinion of Muslims. So my husband and I are rolling out our plan to make ourselves known. By ourselves I don’t mean just he and I—you know what I mean.
So here is our New Year resolution: we will visit 10 cities across the U.S. and give 50 lectures on being Muslim in America –an Islam 101 of sorts. We have put a call out to our network: ‘Invite us and we shall come’. The New Year is barely off the ground, and thanks to the good word that our friends put in, we have received invitations from 10 cities, and 27 lectures scheduled. Gracious and generous invitations from people we know, and people we don’t know. From cities to the coast on the West, the mountains on the north, and the desert on the south—from the land we love.
Do you think I will meet my resolution?
Can you help me get to my goal?
At this point, it does look promising, but it’s not done until its done. After all, ‘Man proposes (or in this case, man and woman proposes), and God disposes.’
Tell me your New Year resolution. If I can, I will help you with yours.
