このページはフレーム対応ブラウザ用に作成されています。下のリンクは非フレーム使用ページですのでそちらをご覧ください。
この記事をプリントする
新年の抱負
新しい年を迎えると、今年の抱負を掲げる人は多い。
しかしある調査によると、実際に実行に移せた人は12%前後だという。
筆者は昨年、毎日俳句を作ると誓い、見事目標を達成した一人だが、成功のコツは「毎日少しずつ」だという。
そこで立てた今年の目標とは…?
Resolving the resolution
School chalkboards were once made of slate, a gray stone that resembles the chilly skyscape of January. People think of starting a new year as "starting with a clean slate," because it offers the chance to erase one's mistakes and begin afresh, as one did with school lessons on a chalkboard. The holiday inspires many, in the bubbly euphoria of champagne or in the hangover experienced the following morning, to write out New Year's resolutions.
New Year's resolutions come in all shapes and sizes. Some people choose health-related aims, vowing to deflate their spare tire, stop smoking, or (once the champagne is gone) give up booze. Others steer themselves toward self-improvement, such as learning a new language, running a marathon, or acquiring new work skills. Some express heartbreakingly humble aspirations, such as hoping to spend more time with their family, pay off personal debts, or de-clutter their homes. Regardless of the goal, studies show that the percentage of people who fulfill their ambitions hovers at around 12 percent.
This concerns me because I need to clear the clutter that clogs my room like cholesterol. I understand how failures happen. Grandma brings over a 10,000-calorie fruitcake she made just for you and you have to eat it, or French is, zut alors, harder to master than you thought, or your ankle turns under at the five-mile mark. Therefore, I have studied how that 12 percent manage to stick to their promises.
The trick seems to be to attend to one's resolution on a daily basis, rather than attempting mastery of the situation immediately. The idea is to take tiny steps. I can attest to the effectiveness of this approach, because last year I resolved to spend some time each day writing creatively. I chose to study and write haiku because they are brief works, concerned with the immediate, the subtle shifts of seasons and resonant cycles. I thought I could manage to do one each day. I now have a collection of 600 poems, and I think I experienced the year in a richer manner as a result. How many of those haiku are really good? Who knows, but I treasure the achievement.
So, if I were to learn from my own findings, I should set about tidying bit by bit, every day. Frankly, the idea stuns me into immobility. One pile of books supports the ceiling in my study — removing it might bring down the entire apartment. There's a box of photos under my desk which might as well be a pit of quicksand, because once I go in, I'll never get out. Bills and letters cover surfaces like snow. De-cluttering is de rigueur, but where to start?
Firmly, I remind myself that potentiality is the divine element in humans. Our celebration of the New Year is not merely a shout-out to the passing of time, but rather an acknowledgment of all that has transpired and all that the future could hold. I tell myself, start small, with the desk. Just clear it. And I will. I will throw all that clutter into a bigger box under my desk, and then write a haiku about it.
- Resolving the resolution
- 抱負を立てる
- chalkboards
- 黒板
- slate
- 粘板岩(スレート)
- chilly
- ひんやり冷たい
- skyscape
- 空の景色
- starting with a clean slate
- 白紙からの再出発
- afresh
- 新たに
- bubbly euphoria
- 浮き立つような幸福感
- hangover
- 二日酔い
- vowing to 〜
- 〜することを誓って
- deflate their spare tire
- 腰周りのぜい肉を落とす
- booze
- 酒
- steer themselves toward 〜
- 〜を目指す
- humble aspirations
- つつましい抱負
- de-clutter
- 〜を片付ける
- hovers at around 〜
- だいたい〜だ
- clutter
- 散らかっているもの
- clogs
- 〜に蓄積する
- cholesterol
- コレステロール
- zut alors
- 参ったことに
- ankle turns under
- 足首をねんざする
- mark
- 地点
- stick to 〜
- 〜を貫く
- trick
- 秘けつ
- attempting mastery of the situation immediately
- 一気に成し遂げようとすること
- attest to 〜
- 〜を証明する
- concerned with 〜
- 〜に関係する
- subtle shifts
- 微妙な移り変わり
- resonant cycles
- 脈動する自然のサイクル
- treasure
- 〜を大事にしている
- set about tidying
- 整頓に取り掛かる
- 〜 stuns me into immobility
- 〜を思うとぼう然として動けなくなる
- might as well be 〜
- 〜も同然だ
- pit of quicksand
- 砂地獄
- Bills
- 請求書
- de rigueur
- 不可欠な
- shout-out
- あいさつ
- all that has transpired
- 起きたことすべて
- all that the future could hold
- 将来起こり得ることすべて