The passing of a year does not have the impact it once did. But all the everything from your last year is over and only able to remind us that it won’t be forever. The here that you knew will never be where you go back to, and certainly isn’t where you left it.
So, what do you do now? The same you did then. Do the best and the worst and the every bit human of what you did yesterday. If you can change it, you would into the best you could have gotten. If you could not have changed any of it, then rest in the placidity that you never really had a choice. Don’t regret any of it: analyze it, live it, use it and lift it from your shoulders. Carry all of it, not as a burden, but as triumph over another year you’ve brought with you, kicking and screaming as it was born to this moment.
What you do now is what you always did, and do it knowing that trying to stop time is trying to stop an avalanche. Do. Now, and relax in the knowing that none of it will be forever.
This year was difficult. But rest assured, next year will be as well, likely more so. You’ll endure pain, loss, risk and constant threat; and if this year has taught you anything- you’ll learn from all of them. Going into the next, I hope you can realize your development is in your hands. Happiness is not something that happens to you, but rather, your responsibility. Even if you decide to not take the risks of happiness, take contentment in the repose of its instability. Everything you put out over the last year did not make anything you have accomplished easier. It simply made you stronger. Just like last year- this year is at the whim of your molding, all you have to do is create it.
In 365 days; you will be older. In your new found age, you’ll have tried something new. You’ll experience new people. You’ll see new things, and have collected a years experience. You’ll glorify the good. Vilify the bad, and remember neither accurately. You’ll forget who you are, be who you could be, and have gotten there in a way you could not have imagined. Your experience will act louder than your words. And with any luck- the people you keep close by are exactly as you imagined they could be. Whatever you remember about your last year, it was better than you thought-enjoy it going in for what it can be as you go out.
Leading up to 2014 – the last Benedictions. Here’s 2011:
“In your next year, may you be stronger than your last. May you see the picture for its image and not for its frame. Always think twice, speak once, and continually create only for yourself- but I hope someone else will love what you create, even if you don’t. Happy New Year”