on endings and new beginnings

Never a New Years morning,

never an old year ends,

without somebody thinking of someone,

old times old loves old friends

The end of the year is almost upon us, tomorrow is the day Mum used to send us kids to the window to look for the man with as many heads as there were days left in the year, how we stared waiting for a many headed man, only to realise eventually that there was in fact only one day left.

How much store do we all put on the New Year?  On the chance to start again, make good the wrongs of the year we were so hopeful for 365 days ago.  What does that tell us?  It tells us that this is a great time for reflection, for considering what has gone before and what we would like the future to bring, it also tells us that unless we make things happen things will never change.

It is fair to say the past year has been full of momentous change for me and for my family.  Nothing is as it was this time last year.  We live in a different house, I have a new job, we have lost some of the most important people in our world, and we have welcomed a darling new baby into our family. The feelings overwhelming me this time last year are not important today.  It is good I didn’t know what was to be, another of Mum’s sayings come to mind.  ‘we never know what is in the pot boiling for us’ and frankly if we had I wonder if we would have had the strength to deal with it.

The constants do remain.  The love for family and friends, the weather, yes it has snowed in December again, and we had sun in the summertime.  The world is a fluid place with small decisions leading to big changes and big decisions often leading to not a lot.

Today I have spoken to three dear friends who are separately dealing with unimaginable difficulties,  Watching loved ones who are ill, making bad choices and being powerless to help.  Each of them are wondering why? What have they done wrong?  How can this be happening?  To them all I say, we don’t know any of those answers, but we do know one thing.

We cannot choose what life throws at us, but we can choose how we deal with it.  In the worse situations of all there is still some good.  We need to find the good, focus on it and make it the centre of our being. It is not easy to do, there are times that test the best of us, but, it is always an option.

So, as we say goodbye to one year, and welcome in another, really the change is within us, the date on the calendar is just that, a date, and while reflection is good, we should remember that now is all we have, tomorrow is promised to not one of us. So lets make each day the best ever day, for the next year, we have three hundred and sixy five chances to seize the good and be happy.  May it be so for you all.

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