A Holiday of Time soon we’ll be saying farewell to 2018 and welcoming 2019.
New Year’s Day marks another year in the rear view mirror as we continue on the road trip of our lives. Some of us might have a lot of obstacles ahead. For others, it may be smooth sailing. While we can’t know for sure what lies ahead, what we do know is that the road of time moves only in one direction, forward. In a culture that seems to be enamored with the past, many people spend a lot of miles on their road trip longingly watching that rear view mirror as the landmarks long passed get farther and farther behind.
But whether we like it or not, there’s no turning back.
A long-standing New Year’s tradition all over is the song, “Auld Lang Syne.” Most know some of the words; few know all of the words, some just hum along. Written by Scottish poet, Robert Burns in 1788, the title translates literally to “Old long since,” meaning, “Days gone by” or, “For old times sake.” It’s a musical reminder that time moves forward, and all we can take with us are memories.
Geoffrey Chaucer once said that “time and tide wait for no man,” which means the processes of nature continues, no matter how much we might like them to stop.
So, what, exactly, should you be doing with this precious time? Should you put more money in the IRA? Should you go back to school and get that law degree or finally learn embroidery? Should you paint and organize your house, or binge-watch the latest Netflix series and call it a day?
The passage of another year and arrival of a new year causes many people to contemplate reform. In keeping with the tradition of New Year’s resolutions, they will strive to quit doing this or that, or start doing something or the other. And time, well, it just keeps ticking forward.
New Year’s Day forces us to reassess our lives and reflect on who we are, what we have done, and what we believe. We might even ask ourselves such questions as, “Can we band together to stop all the inhumanity and suffering?” “Is there time enough to rescue society?” “Can we stop disease?”
We use time to chart progress, and as the book closes on another year we might ask ourselves what progress we have made on the world this past year. Can we still make a difference? If not on a world level, maybe in our own back yard (figuratively and perhaps literally)?
Most of us could spend a year trying to figure out the answers to all of these questions, when the answer could be quite simple. Perhaps all that’s needed is to take one day at a time and keep in mind it is all about the memories and what is remembered!