Great post, with excellent themes and wonderful images to brighten it up. And perfect for a new year's post!

As you implied throughout your post, meditation allows us to transcend the mind (the monkey mind), with its constant train of thoughts of this, that, and the other.

Thinking more thoughts or following any thoughts to any ephemeral "resolution" will never lead to peace.

But the moment you stop identifying with your thoughts, and just watch them arise and fade away, then peace will come to you.