new year's promises

The celebration of the New Year is celebrated, in my opinion, wrongly. Most people shoot away, wish away, and in some cases drink away the old year, while simultaneously wishing and hoping for the new. We don’t wish these things into existence; rather we make ‘resolutions’. We say to ourselves that starting this year we are going to promise to do new things that will definitely change our lives. [But] This energy is misplaced. We should be more focused on not making new promises to ourselves that will be impossible to keep, but rather renewing those promises of yesteryear. Those things that from our childhood or early adulthood, which have been dreams that we always wanted to be reality; to have the courage, energy, strength, and presence of mind to go after them now. Despite the trouble of trying to achieve them in the past.

In fact, the promises of the New Year are the same promises of the new day. That is, another opportunity. Sometimes people will confuse this ‘opportunity’ with a new opportunity or a new moment to choose. I feel strongly that the future is an opportunity to do what we haven’t done, not to do what we want to do. This is not meant to be dogmatic, but what is frustrating is this idea of accumulating and compiling new goals everyday and every ‘new’ year. I wish for myself and for everyone, that they take stock of those things that they have not accomplished and those things that they have accomplished. And strive to make those things that were not successful learning lessons, and those things that we failed to attempt – our new efforts.

A New Year resolution or goal does not have to be a new goal or new resolution. Rather it should be a goal or resolution that we have yet, for whatever reason, not accomplished. And if one finds oneself without unaccomplished goals, one lives ascetically and has not truly examined their life.