A New Year’s Resolution
It is time to think of making New Year’s resolutions. I have a suggestion. Rather than a simple resolution, think of Restoration. There is a kind of nostalgia in all of us. We like the restoration of old cars, old homes, old buildings, historical sites, old farms, old towns, old toys, old furniture. Well, the list doesn’t end.
Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of the word restoration. One definition of restoration by Merriam-Webster is “the replacing of missing teeth or crowns.” A week ago, I went to the dentist with an excruciating toothache. I told my dentist that I wanted my teeth to outlive me. He said they would, and he proceeded to give me a root canal. After three visits and hours of grinding I now have a temporary new crown. I am 79 years old so the temporary crown will likely outlive me. Actually, I have many caps and crowns in my mouth, but most of my teeth are my own, I think, at least the discolored ones.
Merriam Webster continues its definition:
· A bringing back to a former position or condition: reinstatement
· Restitution
· A restoring to an unimpaired or improved condition
Those definitions are a good place to start, I suppose. J.R, Rodale, my favorite synonym finder, gives the following synonyms of restoration:
1. Make restitution of
2. Return
3. Render up
4. Repay
5. Remit
Each of us must decide for ourselves what we want to restore. In the podcast Linda and I shall be bold enough to give a few guidelines. We won’t ask you how you are doing if you don’t ask us how we are doing. Let’s pretend that we are all doing the best we can with what we have.
What better time than now to reassess our lives and consider what in this new year needs restored. Everything comes in classes, and we must prioritize those classes.
For example, we may have material things that need restored. Those are the easy ones, though people with great skills do fair better. I love old car shows. I live near Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee, where they have annual car shows with some amazing examples of old car restorations. I have a ’79 MG midget and a replica of a 1929 Mercedes Benz.
For the sake of economy, Linda and I shall dwell on the spiritual. If we are considering the spiritual, the first thing we must do is to connect the law of restoration with faith. There are three levels of faith that we must consider.
1. Faith in self. Which I call egocentric faith.
2. Faith in others which I call ectocentric faith.
3. And faith in God which I call theocentric faith.
All restoration requires tools and without all the tools we cannot do a full restoration.
Faith in self draws upon all our personal resources. Our experiences, our strengths, our judgment, our skills, etc. Sometimes we must dig deeply. Knowing who you are will help. Above the portal of the temple of Delphi was the phrase, “Know Thyself.” Those Greeks knew something very important.
Faith in others could refer to family, friends, professionals, and other available resources.
Faith in God requires a higher level of faith. Faith in the unseen and invisible requires spiritual faith, faith in the supreme creator of the universe. Just as to have faith in self and faith in others, requires knowledge of self and others, so to have faith in God requires knowledge of God and our relationship to Him.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free