We’ve passed another New Year’s. As I reflect, as I’m wont to do each New Year’s,
it occurs to me. New Year’s in
association with its close relative New Year’s Eve, is essentially a one-second
holiday. While most other holidays are a
full day, such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, MLK Day, etc,
and there is even a holiday which spans months (Christmas starts in August,
right?), New Year’s comes down to that moment from 23:59 to 00:00.
Yet, within that one second, we pack a lot into the
holiday. Two years’ worth in fact. We take all of our past from the previous
year and put it behind us. Usually, that
means pushing away our disappointments, failures, losses, and that which has saddened
us. And then, in the same breathless
expectation, we look forward to the New Year.
Our thoughts are always filled with hope and wonder at what is to come. This year, after all, will be better. We set our goals (“resolutions”) and look
ahead at the joy that is inevitable. I
cannot think of a time where someone looked forward with disappointment.
If you’re truly blessed, you even have someone with whom to
share that second. After all, one of the
traditions of the New Year is to kiss your special someone.
Which led me to think further – why do we only go through
this exercise in that moment that rolls the odometer over from 23:59:59 31
December to 00:00 01 January? Imagine
how our outlooks might be improved if, from time to time, we took a moment to
share with our special someone and put our past and disappointments behind us
and looked forward to the hope and expectations of a new day dawning.
For a one second holiday, we limit it to merely once a year. Surely, we have a second to spare elsewhere
in our yearly journeys. Let’s not limit
ourselves to only that one second. There’s
not a second to lose!
So, to all… Happy New Year!
So, to all… Happy New Year!
