My New Year's Resolution for 2014

I know it’s rather late, today being already February 1. But I just thought of making a resolution for this year.

In my elementary and high school days, I used to read a lot. Right after classes, I would go to the library and ask the librarian to lend me the list of books, and then I would choose one book, which I would read in the library in one sitting. I would always do this if home work (that is what we used to call assignments) was not so difficult. Oh, how I loved to read during those days.

As I cannot think of what will be my goal for this year, I thought of giving myself time to go back to reading. However, I am sure I cannot do it as fast as I did many, many years ago. The obvious reason for this is that when I was young, I had lots of time because responsibilities and interests were few. Time came that I lost my interest in reading because many things took my time. After graduation from college, I got a job, then got married, and the children came, that I forgot about reading, although not totally, because once in a while, I would also read, but surprisingly, I never finished a book, because many things occupied my time.

So, here goes. This year, I will try my best to read and finish one good book each month. This morning, I picked up the book that I started reading in October last year, but because of various reasons I was not able to finish it. I am now more than halfway, and I hope to be able to finish it this week.

I know this will take a lot of my time, because it will be an addition to the other tasks that I normally do, but I know that by reading, I will gain more knowledge about people, understand why they behave in certain ways, and be able to respond better to circumstances beyond my control, and be more compassionate. I will also be able to gain more knowledge about many things. In the process, I will learn to appreciate God's creation more. Hopefully I can become a better person because of this.