January 1st is upon us again. A day of rest and rejuvenation. A day of plans and expectations. Where New Year’s Eve is a day of reflection, New Year’s is a day of anticipation. It is a chance to shed the hindrances and complications of the previous year and embrace a new calendar and a fresh start. It is a day for us to gather our strength and our energy to face the challenges we know are to come. It is a day of rebirth and renewal
For me the most powerful lesson of New Year’s Day is that it is a day like any other. There is no magic to it. It has no special attributes other than we as a society have designated it as a day of new beginnings. And knowing that the whole world is taking the same approach can be comforting and empowering. But the point holds that at a practical level New Year’s Day is no different than any other which means any day can be a fresh start if we wish it to be. We have that power; to wake up on any given day and say today is the start of a new chapter, hell we can say it’s the start of a completely new book. Every single one of us has that power and January 1st is our yearly reminder of that.
New Year’s teaches us another lesson. That actions speak louder than words. Because every year were are witness to (or guilty of) resolutions that don’t survive the week. Promises of great change come flooding out of every mouth we encounter this time of year but few follow through on these commitments. Which is understandable. We are all allowed our false starts. Change is hard. Especially change that comes from within rather than without. But be careful, because every time you make a false promise to yourself you make it that much harder to achieve your goals the next time.
So take this day for what it is, an opportunity for change. But also remember that it is a reminder that every day, hour, moment that we live holds that same opportunity. A chance to see the big picture and redefine our place in it. Whoever you are its who you want to be. If you want to be someone different then be someone different. You always have a choice and when you let an opportunity pass to be better you need only wait a moment for another one to come along. And that is the real lesson of New Year’s Day.
I wish all of you a Happy and Prosperous 2015 and I will see you back here on January 5th.
Your Eclectic Eccentric,
-G.R. Linden