When my friend Tye asked what I expected in the New Year, I felt an uneasiness in my stomach that rendered me speechless. I hadn’t given the subject much thought. The previous year was filled with so much of the unexpected that it cautioned me not to presume what the totality of a new year might be. Then it hit me: the only difference between December 31and January 1 is one day. That one day appears to give people the ambition and the hope necessary to create positive changes. On January 1 people write to-do lists, start new diets and exercise plans, plot career moves and reassess relationships. The thing is, every day is new and holds new possibilities. There is no reason to wait until January 1st to unearth a new you. You have the possibility to “get new” any day you choose.
Remember when you were a child and someone accused you of “getting brand new”? That comment was usually accompanied by an eye roll indicating disgust because your attitude was different than before or that you wanted to associate with a different crowd. The response was usually, “who you callin’ new?” Truthfully, there is nothing wrong with “getting new” and changing your mind about who you want to be. You may have had an epiphany that showed you that you were not happy in the self with yourself or the people in your circle. You did not need to wait until New Year’s Eve to make changes. Instead, you made changes when the next opportunity presented itself, which was the next day.
Life is a journey that allows us to experiment with different selves. Children have and exercise the freedom to “get new” on a regular basis when given the chance to be themselves. Challenging someone who appears “new” forces them into a box set by your expectations.
LEARNING TO LET GO
Over the years, several acquaintances bluntly stated they were taking a break from people in their circle because of changing priorities or a desire to disconnect from people that they felt were a distraction to goals they wanted to obtain. There were also some people that just disappeared without notice or explanation. Of course my feelings were hurt because I felt excluded from their progress. I had to learn to just wish them well. I learned that their disappearance or distance did not impact the forward momentum in my life. Their need to “be new” pushed me to “be new” too.
New Year’s Day can quench the desire to “be new” without the hassle of revisiting womb trauma, or tackling issues from adolescence and puberty. A new year presents the magical experience of opening your eyes to a new you whose past errors are removed and erased. It offers the ability to begin again with a clean slate. This magic is available daily if you forgive your past errors and kiss the scars. When you kiss the scars left by past difficulties you allow them to heal and for you to look at them in a new way: as a thing of beauty to remind you of your survival rate and your ability to recreate and reconstruct the self anew.
TRULY GETTIN’ NEW
Each day you wake up with the desire to be more of who you, then that is the day to “get new.” This New Year, I am not wishing you more peace, happiness, love, money, health, clarity or fearlessness. Nope. I refuse to wish for you on one day a wish I have for you every day. On any day you choose, you have the possibility to find your purpose to push your purpose forward and to “get new.” If someone doesn’t like it just say, “so what” and smile.
In the meantime…..Be Good to YOU!