Making resolutions
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Most make a list of resolutions at the beginning of the year. They make promises to themselves to change different things in their life. Most resolutions are made to try and better their lives. A lot of people don’t know the origin or how making resolutions started so I did some research and found some different information. Maybe the new information will give you guidance and a new view on how you make your goals.
The Babylonians were the first to make resolutions history says. They made their resolutions in mid March and resolutions were made to gods. If you were to break your resolution, the gods would punish you. This kept them disciplined enough to complete them. This then carried into Roman times.
Romans made their resolutions to a two bearded-headed statue. The heads were back-to-back facing opposite directions. This statue’s name is Janus. The heads faced in opposite directions, one looked to the future, and the other to the past. The word Janus is the root of the word January. According to the dictionary Janus means, an ancient Roman god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions, whose festival month was January.
Some touch the two-headed stone for good luck, not just on their resolutions but on their day-to-day living as well. The stone is located in Rome and was between two gates in the temple. Janus was on a street named Argiletum. Argiletum was a road that connected the Roman forum and the residential areas together.
Of course the meaning of the New Year Resolution was changed, especially 4,000 years later. Times have changed, people’s morals are different, and some traditions have even changed. So a simple New Years resolution may not be as easy as you think it would be. Some look at it as a way to get back in touch with who they used to be or who they want to be. They see what they have done wrong within the last year and decide it was not the greatest choice they had ever made.
When making resolutions, think about Janus and how the statue is looking to the future and also the past. Think of all the different events from the previous year that has led you to the point you are now. Was there something you did you’re not proud of? Maybe you made a choice that wasn’t your best idea. Could it also be something you have held onto for years and just have never let go of? Make your resolutions a solution to bettering yourself and fixing all of the things you see wrong with yourself or with what you are doing.
