The Promise of the New Year

Well the New Year came and went and I waited for the moment, the inspiration, the sense of hope to descend in order to make some kind of yearly plan (I hesitate to use the word resolution). But as January faded to February I find myself still waiting. Perhaps my head and heart were relying heavily on Chinese New Year which happens to be February 16^th. It gives me a few more days of thinking!

While I’m not a resolution making kind of person I do like to set out a type of ‘wish list’ or ‘hopefulness agenda’ which seem to be softer words than ‘to-do list’ and the aforementioned resolutions. They sit with my mindset a little better. Things I think I might like to achieve before the end of the current year. It’s the kind of suggestion box for one’s self approach to yearly planning. It might be the teacher thing coming out in me (the curriculum outcomes meets reality). For the non-teaching fraternity the curriculum outlines the things policy makers think we can cover in a year, how we will measure those outcomes and the tools we can use to get there. But then real-life sets in and human intervention of a youthful kind upsets the whole plan. So flexibility of a Cirque du Soleil performer is required. Hence my list is elastic, malleable and fluid in nature.

The collectanea, compendium, manifest (list by any other name) usually includes elements of self-improvement (more exercise, more Zen moments, and try and do something with my hair!) More of the catalogue raisonne deals with writing. What I’m going to complete, what I’ll dabble with, how I’m going to research it, short pieces, long pieces and how much I’ll write every day. Now the everyday caveat is one of those acrobatic words that requires a certain bendability. It used to be 1000 words a day…some days that was surpassed and many days it was not reached. There were days when 10 words were a challenge. And several where the screen blinked back in silent sterility with not a one upon it. They are bleak days. A blank page in a notebook or on a screen is most accusatory beast. So you got nothing huh!! Call yourself a writer!!

Personal advancement elements cover things I’d like to learn, books I’d like to read, places to see, skills to develop, feelings to let go, kindnesses I’d like to do. Possible candidates for this year include coming to understand the third man psychological phenomenon, reading more Nordic noir thrillers, making the perfect sponge cake, accepting praise without thinking I’m showing off, taking a few road trips just because we can, and mastering the tumble-turn in the pool. These are not important things on the world stage. I realise I’m not writing a manifesto to change the human psyche, I’m not curing cancer, nor am I contributing to world peace. But I sometimes think the things we hope for ourselves, and sometimes achieve, makes a little ripple of goodness that might only be felt in the moment or in the little life of one person. And surely that is not a bad thing.

I’ll commit to watching less news…it’s miserable and makes me cross. Although it does lend itself to a skill I put on a list many years ago…learning to swear effectively. I get lots of practice watching the unfolding events around the world. I’ll make an effort to be less OCD about cupboard doors never being shut or people (or one person) discovering laundry just when I’ve finished the last load. I’ll be more open to advice, I’ll listen without an agenda, I’ll try to be less fatigued by the wearisome behaviour of bewildering people, I’ll not wonder what is wrong with me when people say terrible things about me, I’ll try to believe people when they say positive things about my work. I will make every effort to be steadfast, kind and creative.

Again not a great, nor particularly measurable list. Just a farrago of hotchpotch concepts and desires. A trivial mélange of hopes for the coming year.

Most importantly I’ve already placed at the top of my list the words be grateful. Grateful for health, safety, creativity, family, love, friendship, laughter, tranquility, happiness, the sea, beauty, clean air, home, and the peace of mind to dream.

New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.            

Sarah Ban Breathnach (Author)