Continuing from yesterday’s post:

“I promise to forego lust, gluttony, greed and sloth this year…”

That quote is definitely not mine. But they are the final four of the seven deadly sins that build annual New Year’s resolutions lists. They are the corporal sins, or sins of the body.

Lust. Sex. Sex. Sex.

Do you feel better now? I do. Lust, however, I don’t think has to do with the actual act of sex, unless, it has to do with places sex does not belong. I refer here to those who don’t consent and those too young to understand. Predatory sex is a yuck factor.

One can lust for money and power. Sex is a sure element of both.

I don’t think I need to add less lust for personal betterment in 2015.

That said, I do intend to write about lusty subjects this coming year. So, yes, to lusty writing in 2015.

Gluttony. Is this year that I take on the real suffering of a continued ten-size-drop diet? Probably not. I’m no stranger to the diet. Sadly, fat is full of yesterday’s deadly sin, anger and wrath. “I’ll get you back for losing me!” Weight is the most vengeful beast I know.

Being a glutton for punishment (vengeful fat) is not good.

Greed. If the juicy, well photographed catalogs would quit visiting my mailbox, I’d experience less greed. Or is that consumerism? I’m graced with limited storage space (left) in my home. This forces me to walk away from the I want more and I want some of that syndrome. So, while greed makes brief appearances, it’s quickly vanquished by reality.

Seriously, this is an issue I wrestle with in a time when so many have so little. How do we find the balance of wanting convenient things (like computers, cameras, appliances, clothes, cars, etc.) when there is hunger on our streets? We can’t all be monks! And we can’t all be Carlos Slim or Bill Gates.

Okay, greed and finding it’s balance is a consideration.

Sloth. As one who writes, it’s easy to be slothful. Well, not exactly slothful. I’ll explain.

The burn to write (or any creative outlet) comes with many at birth. I’m one of those with-at-birth. It’s the agony and the ecstasy—more powerful than the best food, wine, or even sex. (Dang! Gluttony and lust rise again!) The agony of a blank screen or piece of paper awaiting a writer’s hand, sends me into Writer Slothland. Writer Slothland is how I get my house clean, the laundry folded, and weeds pulled from my garden. These tasks take precedence when a writing job must be completed, edited, rewritten, or even started.

Conversely, when I do face the screen and pull words from my head, the house does not get cleaned, laundry mountain grows like the garden weeds that then compete with the gophers for garden Armageddon.

This brings me right back to that 3^rd grade nun I wrote about yesterday and the memorization of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Thinking upon these human faults, pride, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, greed and sloth, is enough to make one sip too many champagne-filled flutes on New Year’s Eve.

The word sin grows in antiquation. Social harm is the contemporary phrase for sin. When our actions bring harm to others, then it’s a “Houston, we have a problem here” situation. I might wish to have my friend’s beautiful ocean front home. That borders on envy, but I’m not going to take that home away from her (greed). All seven “sins” are interconnected with each other.

Through this essay-exploration of possible resolutions, I can now list my 2015 New Year’s Resolutions.

Instead of moderating the seven sins, I’m listing these seven words for self-improvement in 2015:

• Respect
• Compassion
• Patience
• Courage
• Mindfulness
• Generosity
• Diligence.

Cheers! And Happy New Year!