In November, I took part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), where each participant attempts to write a 50,000 (or more) word novel in 30 days. If you succeed, you are declared a "winner" without anyone ever judging you on quality or "rightness."

Each week, the organizer sent out encouraging emails. This is part of what he said in the last message:

You were able to write a book because you allowed yourself to write a book. And in the coming weeks, after you've caught up on sleep and re-acclimated yourself to normal life, I hope you'll sit down and make a list. It's the most powerful list on the planet, and it's the one entitled: "What I'm going to allow myself to do next."

So, in that spirit, I'm not making a list of "Resolutions," but rather a list of "Permissions."

And in 2006, I'm going to give myself permission to:

1) Make stronger connections with my local community (whether that's through finding a church group I'm comfortable with, or joining a volunteer group, or taking adult classes at a local college, I don't know yet, but I need some more friends in 3-D space). And

2) Sit down and write the story of my private theology -- the history of the established religion of my family, and how I altered that in my own mind as I grew up, into something completely different. I wrote a credo as part of a religion course, my Junior year of college, and found the experience very rewarding. But it was very limited in scope and form, and it was also over 20 years ago. This time, I want to really explore the roots of my beliefs, and just see where that trail leads me, without worrying about fulfilling requirements, or trying to get an "A."