1. Lose Weight
2. More Exercise
3. Blood-glucose levels under control
The usuals. The ones that usually last for about ten days, and then get dumped into the Room 101 Bin! Maybe this year? Who am I kidding?
But there is one new resolution this year:
BE CURIOUS
I have always been curious, inquisitive, or just plain nosey. I love watching people at airports, train stations or in the local coffee shop or pub. “Stop staring,” has been my rebuke more times than I can remember. I’m not being nosey, just people watching.
When I began to take my journey of faith seriously, I began to explore, to be curious. I have had to negotiate more rabbit holes than a rabbit does and, in recent years, learn how to avoid controversy theories that now proliferate news channels and social media outlets.
When our nation decided we could do better without the EU, and a tiny majority decided to leave, I bordered on being fixated with the political news. As you can imagine that didn’t stop. “The Covid Years, The “Boris Years,” the “Truss Days,” and now the “Sunak Months,” have just added to, and prolonged the political chaos that has ensued. Again, my curiosity led to many blind alleys and wasted hours. I have had to learn how to rein back my curiosity so that it becomes good for me. And it has.
Jesus encouraged his followers to seek in order to find. And so I did. It probably started back in 2008, on the hills of Northumbria, but then escalated during The Covid Years, and the first total lockdown. I had to be careful. My diabetes nurse spelled it out: “You don’t want to get Covid. It will, most likely, kill you.” I discovered the challenges and the rewards of hibernation. Early morning walks, headphones on; alone with very few people, and nearly as many foxes. Hours spent writing, playing around with words and phrases. I hope I have improved.
My music tastes changed beyond recognition; I always had a fairly eclectic taste in music. I became curious about classical crossover, in particular the works of Alexis French and Ludovico Einaudi. Their music soothed and comforted and slowed me down enough for me to explore the Road Less Travelled that was to emerge. My reading tastes also began to evolve, and the content of my book shelves looks so different from before. I became curious about the writings of Richard Rohr, Brad Jerzak and Brian Zahnd, amongst others.
For the record, curiosity did not kill this cat! Since that first lockdown, I have grown and expanded and simplified the things I believe in, and the things I live by and for. Gone are the days of rigid evangelicalism, the wars of tribalism. And those that know me best, and love me more, are not afraid to say that I have become a much kinder man. Curiosity did that. I will take that as a result.
And so to 2024. On New Year’s Eve, I celebrated my sixty-fifth birthday with an Indian takeaway, and a quiet evening in with my very best friend. My very best years lie ahead of me. How do I know? Because this year I intend to be intentional about being curious. I’m not just going to accept that it is just part of what I am like. I want to deliberately explore and wander and discover. I want to inquisitively seek out that which is on the edge.
You will, for sure, discover some of the findings of my curiosity as I write posts for my blog. If you honour me with your company and conversation, it is bound to come out as we talk together, about our lives, our families and our faith. It is certain that coffee and chat, food and conversation will be an integral part of my journey. And curiosity will get the better of me, and I will be the better for it.
Happy New Year!
PS. I have never met Charlie Mackesy, the artist whose paintings and drawings have fuelled some of my curiosity. I wish I had. “Thank you, Charlie.”
The Papa Journey 