In a few days we will approach the end of 2025. I, for one, cannot believe how quickly the year ended once we passed Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many will be in a celebratory mood and going to parties. Some will watch the ball drop in Times Square in person or in the comfort of their homes. Still others will be attending religious services or public events with food and entertainment sponsored by their town or a local business. These events have become family and community traditions to gather and remember the past and look forward to the future.
I plan to watch any programs that have retrospectives on the past year. It’s important to take stock of what happened in our world and how it impacted us. This is also a good time to think about what we can do as individuals to make ourselves and our lives better. This is the custom of the New Year’s resolution. In the past, I have made some ambitious statements about exercising more or being more organized, only to abandon my good intentions, feel guilty and give up. That was because I didn’t plan accordingly. This year, I hope to be more concrete by stating an objective and how I will accomplish it. I would like to be more intentional in my practice of time management by reading something educational every day for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The reason I chose this is because I can get lost in mindless browsing and online shopping. I want to rediscover the love I had for reading as a little girl who didn’t have books in her home. I remember when I discovered nursery rhymes and poetry, I would bring home books from school and read them by the window so I would have something to do. This helped me to experience another world that was rich and beautiful.
Besides the New Year’s resolution, there are other very interesting New Year’s traditions from around the world. Some Asian countries will wear certain colors to attract the thing they want (good health, good fortune, and love). In the Philippines, polka dots are popular because some say the dots represent coins for prosperity and luck. Many Spanish language countries have a tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight to acknowledge the tolling bells and welcome the new year. There’s another custom of walking around the block with a suitcase to invite travel and adventure, and another of throwing a bucket of water out the window to toss out the bad influences of the past year. In America, revelers will find a person to kiss for good luck or make a toast to the new year and the promise it holds.
Some will bid the year a fond farewell for all the good things that happened to them (perhaps a marriage, a new baby, a promotion or buying a new house or car). Others will be saying good-bye to the problems and sorrows of this year (a break-up, a death, a layoff, or the loss of a home). They are hoping for better times. We don’t know what the New Year will hold except for the chance to begin again. Today, I offer a piece of ancient wisdom found in a Sanskrit poem to prepare us. The words are simple; but the message is profound. It is called “Look to this Day:”
“Look to this day
for it is life
the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all
the realities and truths of existence:
the joy of growth
the splendor of action
the glory of power.
For yesterday is but a memory
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well lived
makes every yesterday a memory of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.”
May you have a blessed day and Happy New Year.
