TWENTY-TEN OR TWO THOUSAND & TEN?
Welcome to 2010! While the debate rages as to whether it should be stated as "Twenty-Ten" or "Two Thousand and Ten," I once again ponder the significance of that great shiny ball dropping amidst a sea of humanity in Times Square. People stand there for hours in the freezing cold with champagne at the ready and horns & whistles blowing, and scores of people watch them, huddled around their big screen TV's as the countdown begins. Why is it so important? Why do so many celebrate so enthusiastically? Is there some purpose behind all the hoopla, or is it just another excuse to party? Well, for some, perhaps it is just another excuse to get (as one friend put it) "toilet-huggingly drunk." Those are the usual hardy bunch that see every holiday (whether it's Ground Hog Day, Flag Day, or International Talk Like a Pirate Day) as an excuse to throw a kegger. And yes, in my younger days, I used to be among them.
But there's more to it than that. New Year's Eve isn't just a reason to party. There's something mystical about the start of a new year. It carries with it the promise of new beginnings. It echoes with the thrill of starting over, and offers all the treasured opportunity to erase what has gone before and try again. In a word, for many, the New Year represents Hope. I firmly believe that there is a natural drive within the human spirit to want to do better—to achieve, to grow, to improve. In general, I think people have an honest desire to do better, be better, and improve themselves and their relationships. Few people are satisfied with the "status quo," and a New Year presents the ideal opportunity to break through those self-imposed barriers and begin again. After all, almost everybody I know makes the infamous "New Year's Resolutions." Usually, they are geared somehow to self-improvement. I asked people on my Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/AM-Boyle/104303226681?ref=tsto) to tell me their New Year's resolutions. I expected the usual diet and exercise, or maybe the occasional "get more organized," but I was pleasantly surprised at some of the unique responses. Some of them really made me stop and think. One individual even stated that she wanted to "continue to learn from her son," a concept that warms me and makes me wonder what I can learn from my own children. Amazing, how the New Year inspires such self-reflection and brings out the best in people. I believe it's because there is a spark in the human soul that fuels a desire to be better, to thirst for and strive towards something greater than ourselves, and to fulfill our God-given purpose and potential.
But this is a lot of responsibility to heap on one poor little day sitting so innocently on the calendar. After all, January 1st is just a day like any other, and (aside from the occasional Mummer's feather on the streets of Philadelphia) there is nothing different in the air. Magic fairy dust does not rain down, mysteriously bolstering our will power or eliminating old habits. So many people, around the third or fourth week of January, begin to get discouraged. The New Year is rolling along and all their good intentions for change and improvement don't seem to be panning out quite the way they should. Depression runs rampant in February. The winter drags on, the Holiday Hustle is history, and those New Year's resolutions have fallen victim to old habits and stubborn behaviors. So what then? Do we just muddle through and wait for next New Years? Unfortunately, some people do. But I think they're missing out; I think there's a better solution.
Like I said, January 1st is no different than any other day on the calendar, except for the significance WE GIVE IT. WE are the ones who have dubbed that date the Master of New Beginnings—WE are the ones who have endowed that day with the power to change lives. So if we have the power to do that with one day, why not do it for other days as well? Hell, why not do it for EVERY day? What if we woke up every day and, before we stumbled out of bed, convinced ourselves it was New Year's day? Aside from the necessity of thawing out yet another pork roast and calling in sick to work, just imagine the mental possibilities! Suppose, for the purpose of change and improvement, we treated every day as a New Beginning—a chance to start over, or do better, or make important changes? Suppose we faced every day with the same hope and conviction we carried with us on January 2nd? What would happen? What could happen? I think lives would be changed, that's what. I think attitudes would be transformed. I think people would begin to realize that every day, not just the ones we choose to label, is a wonderful, mystical gift in it's own right; every day is a chance to begin anew, and to live life to the fullest, with every good hope and expectation firmly in place.
So what's my New Year's resolution? To treat every day as a New Beginning; to grab hold of and pull forth the God-given purpose and potential that is there for me each and every morning.
HAPPY NEW DAY, EVERYBODY!!!
But there's more to it than that. New Year's Eve isn't just a reason to party. There's something mystical about the start of a new year. It carries with it the promise of new beginnings. It echoes with the thrill of starting over, and offers all the treasured opportunity to erase what has gone before and try again. In a word, for many, the New Year represents Hope. I firmly believe that there is a natural drive within the human spirit to want to do better—to achieve, to grow, to improve. In general, I think people have an honest desire to do better, be better, and improve themselves and their relationships. Few people are satisfied with the "status quo," and a New Year presents the ideal opportunity to break through those self-imposed barriers and begin again. After all, almost everybody I know makes the infamous "New Year's Resolutions." Usually, they are geared somehow to self-improvement. I asked people on my Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/AM-Boyle/104303226681?ref=tsto) to tell me their New Year's resolutions. I expected the usual diet and exercise, or maybe the occasional "get more organized," but I was pleasantly surprised at some of the unique responses. Some of them really made me stop and think. One individual even stated that she wanted to "continue to learn from her son," a concept that warms me and makes me wonder what I can learn from my own children. Amazing, how the New Year inspires such self-reflection and brings out the best in people. I believe it's because there is a spark in the human soul that fuels a desire to be better, to thirst for and strive towards something greater than ourselves, and to fulfill our God-given purpose and potential.
But this is a lot of responsibility to heap on one poor little day sitting so innocently on the calendar. After all, January 1st is just a day like any other, and (aside from the occasional Mummer's feather on the streets of Philadelphia) there is nothing different in the air. Magic fairy dust does not rain down, mysteriously bolstering our will power or eliminating old habits. So many people, around the third or fourth week of January, begin to get discouraged. The New Year is rolling along and all their good intentions for change and improvement don't seem to be panning out quite the way they should. Depression runs rampant in February. The winter drags on, the Holiday Hustle is history, and those New Year's resolutions have fallen victim to old habits and stubborn behaviors. So what then? Do we just muddle through and wait for next New Years? Unfortunately, some people do. But I think they're missing out; I think there's a better solution.
Like I said, January 1st is no different than any other day on the calendar, except for the significance WE GIVE IT. WE are the ones who have dubbed that date the Master of New Beginnings—WE are the ones who have endowed that day with the power to change lives. So if we have the power to do that with one day, why not do it for other days as well? Hell, why not do it for EVERY day? What if we woke up every day and, before we stumbled out of bed, convinced ourselves it was New Year's day? Aside from the necessity of thawing out yet another pork roast and calling in sick to work, just imagine the mental possibilities! Suppose, for the purpose of change and improvement, we treated every day as a New Beginning—a chance to start over, or do better, or make important changes? Suppose we faced every day with the same hope and conviction we carried with us on January 2nd? What would happen? What could happen? I think lives would be changed, that's what. I think attitudes would be transformed. I think people would begin to realize that every day, not just the ones we choose to label, is a wonderful, mystical gift in it's own right; every day is a chance to begin anew, and to live life to the fullest, with every good hope and expectation firmly in place.
So what's my New Year's resolution? To treat every day as a New Beginning; to grab hold of and pull forth the God-given purpose and potential that is there for me each and every morning.
HAPPY NEW DAY, EVERYBODY!!!
Posted by A.M. Boyle at 1/8/2010 12:25 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: New Year New Beginnings Twenty Ten Resolutions Two thousand and ten 2010 Hope Beginnings
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: New Year New Beginnings Twenty Ten Resolutions Two thousand and ten 2010 Hope Beginnings
Wow, I agree with you 100% - everydays presents a fresh start... all we need to do is recognize that fact. Unfortunately, I need to remind myself of thiseveryday, so thank you for putting it so well.
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I vote "OH" 10.
I too will try to try to live the new year as everyday being a new start! Thank you!
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