Today we kick 2013 out the door. Here are some names that will stir memories of the year … Pope Francis, Nelson Mandella, Prince George, Mike Duffy, Rob Ford, Lac Megantic, Edward Snowden, Obamacare, Chris Hadfield, Miley Cyrus, Malala, Alice Munro … each name carries with it a whirl of memories as this person or event caused news.
The dawning of a new year brings with it new ideas, new hopes, new dreams and new plans. I love a new year because it brings a clean page to my living and a fresh start to my intentions. On January 1 I always breath deeply because even though it is just another day it is a day that offers newness and clarity. January 1 is when we hang the new calendars and look to the year that holds nothing but surprise! I also love a new year’s day because it calls for three dimensional viewing. We look back to what has passed – the events and the people that have influenced our living; we look at the current day and what is happening in the present moment; and we look to the future to see what will unfold in the days ahead. A New Year causes us to consider the past, the present and the future. Yes, I do make resolutions. No, I seldom keep them, at least not for very long. But there is something refreshing about declaring a new start to something. It is like shaking off the old and starting anew.
One of my favourite readings at this time of year was written by Minnie Louise Haskins in 1908 but came to popular imagination when it was quoted by King George in his Christmas broadcast 1939. I like it because my mother, who had an aptitude for quoting poetry, always quoted it on New Year’s Day when I was a child. It is old fashioned language but the sentiment is one of assurance.
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God,
trod gladly into the night.
And God led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
Happy New Year – dear readers and many blessings to you for 2014.
