Before us lies a brand, new calendar year. Frankly, I don’t think that Jan. 1, 2014, holds any more newness than Dec. 31, 2013, did. After all, every day is new and holds the same life streams as the previous day. Still, when a new year begins, we have a psychological invitation to view it as a world of new possibilities, and this is not a bad idea, especially if we have been floundering a bit and could use some new focus.
Definitely invitational...
Some newnesses are definitely invitational. I have a wonderful friend who has built a life of artistic endeavors over several years because she had to find her way back from serious illness, and this path opened before her. Knowing her, I would imagine she will probably get her hair dyed purple again! On the other, hand I also know a family that will be rebuilding its underpinnings after the unexpected passing of a beautiful wife and mother late in 2013. No one would have invited this bit of newness into their lives, but they will tackle it because new life keeps intruding itself into our experiences, like it or not.
Now everything is important...
As for me, I am smiling again at George Burns’ old joke about considering it a good day because he woke up and did not find his name in the obits! And there are times when I think I am beginning to know how he felt. I am not entertaining any flawed fatalisms here; I am simply reminding myself of how precious each breath, each day, each year is. There really are good reasons for getting older, and one of them is that we learn not to take anything for granted. Now everything is important; everyone is worth noticing; every day is piled high with possibilities, and every new year is a golden link in the chain of our own being.
A new threshold...
Here we are, then, at a new threshold, in human terms anyway. There are many doors before us. Some will undoubtedly be quite new before the year is out, with some paths not yet tracked before us.
Might as well get started!
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