I have always loved New Years. Earlier this month I wrote about making resolutions and reflecting on the year gone by. I continue to be one of those people who likes to stay up until midnight and count down the arrival of the new year, bang on pots and pans, give big hugs to my friends and family there at my side, and maybe even pass around a bottle of champagne. In reflecting on why it means what it does to me there is certainly the celebration part. I always like a good reason to celebrate. I also really appreciate it as a time to reflect and a time to dream. New Year’s is a mile post where we get to pause and catch our breath. It is also a starting block from which we charge into the new year that waits ahead. This week’s blog is just some final reflections as we say goodbye and hello at the changing of the years.
The Celebration Part. No matter how challenging the year gone by has been, for me, New Year’s is a celebration of the smaller victories. We have made it through another year. We have weathered whatever storms came our way. We have accomplished whatever we have put our energies into. We have gained and learned from the year gone by and we get to look with enthusiasm and excitement to the new year with new opportunities and new adventures to come. Life seems to really slow down during this little stretch between Christmas and New Years. It is perfectly designed for reflecting on the year past and readying for the year to come.
The Mile Post Part Year end is a time of closing out the books. Wrapping things up. Finalizing old pursuits so that new ones can be taken up. It is a time to be thankful for all the good things that came from the past year. We can be thankful despite any difficulties and challenges we had to weather along the way. I am truly thankful for the opportunities I have been given. I am thankful to all of you who have given me the chance to help you work through difficult times. I am thankful that I got to spend the year doing work that brings me fulfillment and allows me to make a living while doing it.
I also take the time to review my goals set at the beginning of the year. I may not have accomplished everything I set out to, but I can take a little time to celebrate any small victories. One of this year’s small successes is being completed with my writing of this blog post, as it marks the 52nd and final weekly blog I have written this year. I hope you found them helpful and worthy of your time. While I struggled at times to get them together and to find inspiration, they gave me pause for reflection, and provided opportunity to share a little about myself as I provided perspectives on the challenges that divorce brings. As we move into another year I renew my commitment to continue this work. My task and intention is to spend a little time each week trying to inspire and guide couples to divorce in a healthy way.
The Starting Blocks Part New Year’s marks a new beginning. Ready… Set… Go! I like New Years because it always feels like we get to start with a clean slate. It is an exciting time, full of possibilities. We get to reinvent ourselves if we want to. We seem to brim with ambition and motivation. Everything feels possible. The challenge is always finding a way to carry this energy through the year and to not lose sight of our strivings. It is a great time for the making of plans so that we can parlay the excitement of it all into actual progress in our lives. People often joke about how quickly we lose sight of the commitments we make at the beginning of a new year. I like New Years because it is a time when I am moved to think deeply about what direction I am headed and to make plans for keeping myself moving in the right direction. There is no expectation that the energy will fall off as we move further into the year.
So, as I move through this time of reflection about the year gone by and as I prepare to embrace the year that awaits I understand why I appreciate it as I do. It is a time where I am filled with thankfulness. It is a time when I am surrounded by the people I love. It is a time when I am excited about all the possibilities that lie ahead. Finally, it is a time of festivity and celebration. Happy New Year!
In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
-Abraham Lincoln