Hello 2012!!

We’ve “crossed the threshold” and entered into another New Year!

Are you still celebrating? Or did you celebrate? And what exactly are (were) we celebrating?

Is it just that we get yet another shot at starting over, doing things right, erasing past mistakes, losing weight, exercising more, eating healthier, criticizing less, helping others more, getting more organized,  having more fun, working harder, working less, spending more time with loved ones, writing better blog posts, finally training the dog, finishing that book or whatever…?

The list of potential goals or self-improvement possibilities is endless.

Have you made your resolutions or list yet? Are you going to?

Generally, I don’t make resolutions or such lists and if I do, I certainly don’t announce them to others, especially on the internet!

And why not?

Do I know I won’t stick to my list?

Do I know I’ll fail?

Do I have no intention of being accountable? Perhaps.

Maybe it’s because to me the New Year represents so much more than to-do-lists and resolutions. All that stuff reminds me of what I always referred to when teaching as “busy work.”

To me each New Year is more about a mental cleansing and creating a clean slate for the mind. It’s about forgiving yourself as well as others. It’s about moving forward while looking back. It’s about letting in the future and gently letting go of the past, but not forgetting…

It’s not about the “busy work” of making lists and resolutions, although they can be important too. (And heaven knows I need to make a few lists of my own.)

I prefer to think of each and every day as a fresh start. Every day is a chance to start over and “do things right or at least better”.

I believe in second, third, fourth (or perhaps 365th) chances.

But just because I believe in every day’s freshness and every day’s opportunity, this doesn’t mean a daily free pass is in order. This is not an excuse to sit back and not even bother trying to accomplish something today.

And why not? (And as a very adept procrastinator, I ask this of myself quite frequently).

Because every fresh day without effort of some kind, be it small or large, is a missed opportunity and we don’t get days back. We don’t always get missed opportunities back either.

So, make resolutions. Or don’t make resolutions.

But do clear your mind and open it up to new possibilities. Let go of old baggage that is weighing you down. Make room for change that truly matters.

Whatever you do or don’t do, savor each day, savor the New Year.

A fresh day or a fresh year, both are pretty awesome!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Leaving you with a lovely poem shared by Melissa Johnson Voight (thank you) via Nicki Boscia’s Beyond the Pink Moon Facebook page:

If it didn’t Bring you Joy,
Just Leave it Behind.

Let’s Ring in the New Year
With Good Things in Mind.

Let Every Bad Memory Go
That Brought Heartache and Pain.

And let’s Turn a New Leaf
With the Smell of New Rain.

Let’s Forget Past Mistakes
Making Amends for This Year.

Sending You These Greetings
To Bring you Hope and Cheer.

Happy New Year!

✿ ܓAuthor Unknown

 

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Why or why not?