New Year & Resolutions
And so we come to the end of another year. In some ways it feels as if the year flew by so quickly, yet there were times during the year when it felt as if it all dragged on for far too long. Such is life, I suppose. Nonetheless, 2004 is soon to be only a memory.
I like to think of the new year as nature’s way of periodically restoring a hope which can often be lost in the course of a lifetime. With each new year comes a renewed sense of hope and opportunity for reaching one’s potential and discovering all that is possible. If the new year didn’t occur naturally, there would surely be a need for its invention.
Resolutions have become as much a part of the new year’s tradition as watching fireworks and drinking champagne. While most new year’s resolutions tend to revolve around the modification of certain behaviors, there are some resolutions which focus on expanding one’s self in pursuing one’s dreams.
One of the great things about living in America is that there is a sense that it’s never too late. In other parts of the world, life is often expected to unfold in a certain way; one either accomplishes certain things at a specific time in life or one doesn’t pursue such things at all. It’s different here in the States. We applaud the grandmother who decides to return to college to earn her degree. We celebrate the forty-something couple that decides to have their first child. We marvel at the retiree that has taken up skydiving, and we find inspiration from someone that has decided to fulfill their lifelong dream of learning to play the piano.
I’ve never been one to follow the beaten path. I have reaped the benefits and paid the price in walking my own trail in my own time. Admittedly, there have been those occasions where I’ve done things ass-backwards, and in doing so, I’ve left behind some unfulfilled gaps. For 2005, my main new year’s resolution is to fill in some of those gaps, to seek possible opportunities and to hold on to the hope and belief that it’s never too late.
Happy New Year!