The New Year's Eve holiday is actually one of my favorites. I just love the feeling of anticipation for what is to come, the feeling that anything could be possible in the coming year. As Edith Lovejoy Pierce said, "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."
I love Vessel for the same reason. Anything is possible!
We are all given the same amount of time in any given hour, day or year. If we are smart, we will choose to use that time to hope, plan and create the kind of life we want. We won't wait for things to happen TO us, but will instead understand that "If it's to be, it's up to me." Some people find that thought scary. I find it exhilarating.
I really appreciate these thoughts on time, by Stephen B. Cloud:
"Though even thinking on the
subject of time may prove discomforting, it is not a bad idea—especially at the
beginning of a new year.
As we
look into the meaning of the word "year," we look at a block of time. We see 12 months, 52 weeks,
365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds. And all is a gift
from God. We have done nothing to deserve it, earn it, or purchase it. Like
the air we breathe, time comes to us as a part of life.
The gift
of time is not ours alone. It is given equally to each person. Rich and poor,
educated and ignorant, strong and weak—every man, woman and child has the same
twenty-four hours every day.
Another
important thing about time is that you cannot stop it. There is no way to slow
it down, turn it off, or adjust it. Time marches on.
And you
cannot bring back time. Once it is gone, it is gone. Yesterday is lost forever.
If yesterday is lost, tomorrow is uncertain. We may look ahead at a full year’s
block of time, but we really have no guarantee that we will experience any of
it.
The new
year is full of time. As the seconds tick away, will you be tossing time out
the window, or will you make every minute count?"
Or how about this recipe for a good year (by Anonymous):
"Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time. Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.
Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor."
Sounds like great advice!
Any way you slice it, a new year is another chance to become our best self. We will not reach perfection, but perfection is an illusion anyway. I like the often-quoted maxim: "My wish for the new year is a fat bank account and a thin body - and hopefully these won't be mixed up like they were last year."
As Oprah Winfrey said ... Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right!
Happy New Year to you all!
Love,
Susan
