IN THEORY:What do you resolve for the new year?

As a spiritual leader, what is your New Year’s resolution for 2007?

Everything happens for a reason.

The fact that my article of last week was not published in the paper (though it appeared on the website) due to “space limitations” prompts my answer to this week’s question: I resolve to gracefully and gratefully accept limitations.

This is not a craven surrender to the narrowing of possibilities that each passing year renders more palpable but an embrace of the wisdom that God is the Creator while we are the creation. The universe does not advance on my timetable or in line with my expectations, but according to God’s calculation and his unassailable sovereignty. It is the Lord’s speech out of the whirlwind, identifying Job as a powerless latecomer, that resonates within me. The Biblical text that seems ever more applicable to me is from Ecclesiastes: “I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.” I conclude that any further expectation of God’s seeking my counsel before he acts will continue to be in vain.

It is incumbent upon me to initiate, but not up to me to achieve. I must exert my best effort, but results are the province of God. I can throw my best pitch, but whether it arrives in the strike zone and how the umpire judges it are beyond my power to control. Moses did not cross over the Jordan. David did not build the Temple. Schubert did not finish his Eighth Symphony. Kafka did not complete “The Castle.” Wilson did not create a League of Nations. But it was their determination that revealed their character and their striving that endowed blessing.

We reach the end with dreams unrealized, projects not completed, resolutions unfulfilled. As the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “One of the great agonies of life is that we are constantly trying to finish that which is unfinishable.” This is because only God succeeds in everything he sets out to do, while we do not succeed ultimately in anything we set out to do.

King reminisced to his congregation: “We drove from Montgomery all the way to Los Angeles on Highway 80. And you know, being a good man, being a good woman, does not mean that you’ve arrived in Los Angeles. It simply means that you’re on Highway 80. Maybe you haven’t gotten as far as Selma, or maybe you haven’t gotten as far as Meridian, Miss., or Monroe, La., — that isn’t the question. The question is whether you are on the right road. Salvation is being on the right road, not having reached a destination.”

The essence of being on the right road lies in knowing we are the passenger, not the driver. As author Margaret Maron wrote: “Every time we start thinking we are the center of the universe, the universe turns around and says with a slightly distracted air, ‘I’m sorry. What did you say your name was again?’ ”

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach

Just keep going! This exhortation, given often in Zen practice, may not seem inspiring, but it points to the kind of patient, humble and steadfast care that is indispensable for continuing growth. I do not make New Year’s resolutions, but the end of the year and beginning of a new year is certainly one of the times when I reflect upon my priorities, commitments and shortcomings.

In Zen, we focus upon aspiration and awareness all through the year. One quick way we may get in touch with our aspirations, with the “big picture,” is by imagining ourselves near death. Have I used my time wisely and lived well? Do I have regrets and unfinished business? As we answer these questions, each day becomes a “new year,” a fresh start filled with new opportunities. Aspiration is that “best self” deep within us, calling for full expression. We want to regularly take time to listen to this voice and to rediscover it if it has become faint.

Having firm resolve may be effective in certain situations, but at some point, we begin to see the limits of our willpower, especially when things do not go our way, no matter how hard we try. This insight can help us consider a different way of living. Instead of focusing upon my ideas about what I want and how I think things should go, can I listen and try to discover what my place is and how best to respond to the events of each day? Learning how to become more aware is at the heart of Zen practice. This includes discovering how habits — deeply rooted attitudes, opinions and fears — are causing us to be unaware.

In Zen, the light of awareness is the best resource for transformation. When we are thoroughly and deeply aware, whatever changes, movement and growth are needed naturally occur, just as a bud flowers when sun and water are provided.

Just keep going. For me, this means to do my best to practice Zen awareness, to improve as a teacher and a counselor, to finish the book I am writing, to be more aware of healthy eating and daily physical exercise, to become more loving — to more deeply realize true self and Buddha nature. What does it mean to you to just keep going?

REV. DR. DEBORAH BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

Before one can believe in God, you have to believe in yourself.

When I attended New York University, there was a hot dog vendor who used to sell the best hot dogs I ever tasted. At least once a week I used to buy a hot dog from this man. He used to put on a show selling his hot dogs. He used to say, “Get them here, the world’s best hot dogs.”

People used to line up, even in the cold, to buy them. The man was so successful, he told me that he was able to send his son to college from the money he made in his business. As I found out later, the son studied health matters. He told his father how bad hot dogs were for your health. Discouraged, the man no longer believed in his business. Hot dog sales went down. Instead of saying, “Get them here, the world’s best hot dogs,” the vendor sheepishly said, “Would anyone like to buy a hot dog?”

The son, according to his health studies, appeared to be right. No one wanted to buy a hot dog anymore. The father went out of business. He was broke. The father no longer believed in his business, no longer believed in himself. So many people lose confidence in themselves, they become their biggest enemy in their life.

My new year’s resolution as a spiritual leader is to be positive in everything I do, everything I undertake. If I can do this, my philosophy of life will spread to other people. We just finished celebrating Hanukkah. The miracle of Hanukkah is that in a dark room with no light, you can light a spark or a little flame of a candle, and it can brighten up the entire room. Attitude in life is everything.

If you can play a mental game and add up the letters of the word “attitude” in a numerical equivalent, with A equaling one and B equaling two down to Z equaling 26, and you add up all the numbers of the word “attitude,” it equals exactly 100. Why not give 100% in everything you do in your life.

This is a great New Year’s resolution for anyone. Believe in yourself and you can work miracles in your life.

RABBI MARC S. RUBENSTEIN

Temple Isaiah

Newport Beach

Slow down. Breathe deep. Vacation harder. Seriously, 2006 was a crazy year for my family. We are building margins into our lives. In 2006, we lived too much of our lives in the margins. The only way we could do it was we knew that the things that were pushing us into our margins were only part of a season for us. By September, 90% of the big issues were resolved, but only after 18 months of pushing hard and holding on for the light at the end of the tunnel. In slowing down, I can now begin to read more; spend more time with people, especially my wife and kids; pray more strategically; study scripture more intensely; and find a place for my family to serve the community together.

I am beginning to learn Swahili, and I have two books that I hope to finish that were written by Southern California residents: “The Divine Conspiracy” by USC philosophy professor Dallas Willard and “Integrity” by Henry Cloud. None of this is distinctly “spiritual leader” material, but it is the stuff that will keep me from becoming overly “spiritual” and disconnected from my people and my family. I also hope to have lunch again with the other In Theory columnists. Normally we are able to get together for lunch, but last year our schedules couldn’t coincide, so we missed out spending time with each other.

I trust all of you will have a strategic and intentional year as you slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.

RIC OLSEN

Lead Pastor

The Beacon

Anaheim

There are good new year’s resolutions, including getting healthy, whole and holy; that is, being fit and praying always.

Personally, I regularly vow to say “thank you” as often as possible and “I love you” as often as is appropriate.

The discipline of principles such as those of the 12-step program seem to me more likely to last and have long-range results than do resolutions to eat right and lose weight, or even to pray and laugh more often. So in recent years, I have done my best to take (only) six steps to “recovery” — recovery of the life of the mind, recovery of the life of free movement of the heart, and recovery of the ability to act with intelligence and compassion.

1. I admit I am not powerful enough to manage my life.

2. I believe that God, with power much greater than my own, can bring me to my senses and home to myself.

3. I choose to turn my will and my life over to the care of God.

4. I make a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself.

5. I admit to myself, to those I have hurt, and to God that I have erred.

6. I ready myself to surrender to the healing forgiveness of God and others.

I find myself wishing that our whole nation would sweat through a similar process. I trust that if we could surrender to such steps we would discover that this is truly a wonderful life. and, with a great smile, pray: “Oh, my God, our God, how glorious it is to be alive! As we begin 2007 together, I say “Thank you!” In words from our Book of Common Prayer, Page 836: “Thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care, which surrounds us on every side. Thank you for setting us at tasks, which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments, which satisfy and delight us. Thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.”

By thanking God for God’s greatest gift — the presence in this life of God’s own self — we can learn and act and believe and love together.

And I leave you with this New Year’s prayer:

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastroenterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the IRS.

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May New Year’s Eve find you seated around the table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends. May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do tomorrow night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May the telemarketers wait to make their calls until after you finish dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you’ve been watching, and may your checkbook and your budget balance — and include generous amounts for God’s work.

May you remember to say “I love you” at least once a day to your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God’s love in every sunset, every flower’s unfolding of petals, every baby’s smile, every lover’s kiss and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.

(THE VERY REV’D CANON)

PETER D. HAYNES

Saint Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

I resolve to be healthier, thinner, more energized and walk one to two miles a day. I resolve to be even nicer and more helpful to my wife, my family, my friends and my congregation. I resolve to love God by doing my very best to serve God’s creation and universal peace.

I resolve to be a voice for the inner presence that lights the way for those seeking a better way to live their lives. I resolve to use love to calm my fears and remember my purpose. I resolve to be willing to let God move by means of my creative intelligence. I resolve to live in a state of constant gratitude realizing that God created my life to be a rich and meaningful experience. I resolve to think the highest and best and pray unceasingly. I resolve to live in a state of faith, acceptance and belief, knowing that my life is forever revealing a greater and greater potential.

I bless all of my colleagues who work within their own spiritual beliefs to heal, help and rekindle God’s love for all. I thank God for all my blessings, and I know for each and every person who reads this column there is a power greater than you and I working to awaken all of us to a spiritual magnificence we have never known before.

Never give up on your quest to live a life of love and peace. Never give in to the temptation to think negative thoughts about yourself and others. And never withhold your love.

SENIOR PASTOR JIM TURRELL

Center for Spiritual Discovery

Costa Mesa