Page Title

Huber

Funeral Home & Cremation Services

952-474-9595

Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic.

Occupational Therapy. Speech Therapy.

952-443-9888

Victoria’s Corner Bar. Nightly Specials and Menus. 952-443-9944

Buying or Selling Victoria?

Call Nan Emmer. 612-702-2020

Weinzierl

Jewelers

8 First Street in Waconia. 952-442-2885

Preschool and Childcare in Victoria.

Call 952-443-2121.

MVT Excavating

No job is too small. 952-446-9341

The Key

The Key to advertisers

in the Victoria Gazette.

Located at www.VictoriaGazette.com.

I resolve in 2009 to do the best I can to get from one day to the next with the least amount of anxiety and the most amount of peace. I know the meaning of “sleep in heavenly peace” and it’s much more than a few winks.

I resolve in 2009 to expend as much energy and hours as needed to fulfill duties and responsibilities that have either befallen me or been self-imposed, most all of them accepted with determination and carried out with satisfaction and joy. I know the meaning of “labor of love” and it lasts much longer than nine months.

I resolve to promote the truth of things because there is no honest love or friendship without truth. Everything else is pseudo or sham, pretense or preposterous, artificial and hypocritical. That’s just how it is. I know the meaning of “love without truth is as a clanging cymbal” and so I’ve always preferred the piano.

I resolve to shake the dust from my sandals as I move with hope from one precious moment to another, having learned that anything of eternal value is precious because of the life that abides within it. I know the meaning of “thou shalt not kill” and it’s about more than blood and guts.

I resolve to accept the things I cannot change, considering only God can change the human heart. Major change requires, in the subject person, simplicity of soul, abandonment of self-will, more other-esteem than self-esteem, and wide open doors to the reality of things. I know the meaning of “written on the human heart” and it has more pages than the Victoria Gazette.

I resolve to change the things I can and to never be afraid to look another person -- friend or foe -- directly in the eyes, because eyes are the windows to the soul. If we don’t meet the eyes, we won’t meet the soul. If we don’t meet the soul, we remain strangers. I know the meaning of “strangers” and “friends” and some of them must wear glasses, like myself.

I resolve to tirelessly inform and remind myself and others of the difference between fact and opinion. Facts cannot be disputed (it’s the nature of a fact), whereas an opinion is just that, an opinion relative to other opinions like third cousins twice removed, like cousins who don’t read the fine print and sometimes don’t even care about the big print. I know the meaning of “tyranny of relativism” and it grows warts that should be squeezed to death.

I resolve to hammer away at the difference between being judgmental of people’s intentions and being judgmental of behavior. The first is not acceptable and certainly not very nice. The latter is indicative of a sound mind and is required of a civilized society. We cannot honestly, morally, or legitimately judge the heart and soul of another person (judge not lest ye be judged), but we most assuredly must judge that the behavior of one who presses his hand upon a hot stove is deficient in mind or matter, certainly in judgment. The commandments are about judging behavior. I know the meaning of “judgmental” and I’ve never sat on the bench.

I resolve to attack the myth that we are called to live and let live. We are not called to live and let live, each according to our own whims and fantasies. That is precisely the origin of chaos. We are called, instead, to seek, to knock, to live, to love honestly, to find the truth of things, including the hard truth, and share it with others, as kindly as possible, considering our imperfect temperaments. I know the meaning of “happy are those” and we have wings that are not barbecued or buffaloed.

I resolve to exercise both mind and body, relentlessly, till death do us part. Romance novels don’t impart romance, mystery novels don’t reveal the mysterious, and comedy gives laughs but not joy. They are merely appetizers en route to the romance, mystery, and joy that are found in life’s real meal deal. We must get beyond the appetizers and move into the meat and potatoes, and that’s plenty of exercise. I know the meaning of “just desserts” and they are very high in calories.

I resolve to walk several miles a week, but only a few at a time, like a half hour a day, to assist the beating heart, the throbbing soul, the working mind. Whether barefoot or shod, my footprint must not be too heavy, so as to sink all the way to China, and it must not be too light, so as to never make a landing. I know the meaning of “walk a mile in my shoes” and I’ve got the Crocs, the Uggs, and the Skeechers to prove it.

Happy New Year to all the wonderful readers of the Victoria Gazette. I appreciate the camaraderie, the good will, the turning of the pages. May your resolutions for 2009 be just right, not too taxing and not too laxing.