New Year

It is a new year! 
In one sense, it is just the day after yesterday, and the day before tomorrow.  Yet it is more than that to us.  It holds significance. 
No longer can we sign the previous year, but we sign the date this year.  In the southern hemisphere it is summer.  There have been many previous summers, but none of them have this date.
Dating things gives us an idea of when.  “When did that happen?”  “1066.”  For me to identify that date, 1065 needed to have finished and 1066 begun. If we did not have dates the answer to that question would be “a long time ago” or in some places “many moons ago.” 
Dates are often even more specific.  All of us know when the World Trade Centres were brought down.  It was 9/11.  In Australia it was 11/9.  The Americans have a way of dating things that makes sense to me.  They put the year first, and then the month, and then the day.  That really helps with sorting.  I have tried to sort by date based on the Australian way and it does not end up chronological.  Putting the year, month, day does.
New Year’s seem to have great significance for individuals.  We stay up every year and celebrate the passing of one year to the next.  We often have a count down and sparklers.  All over the world fireworks go off.  Sydney is spending in the millions on fireworks this year.  Some would say, “That money could have been used to feed the poor.”  Well yes it could have, but it seems to me, there is a time and a place for everything.  We have designated New Year as a time to celebrate.
Often New Year is seen as a chance for a new beginning.  Along with the good things, I have regrets.  There are things I would do differently if I could change the past, but I can’t.  I can change my future though.
Norman Vincent Peale was famous for his inspirational writing.  He once inspired a criminal to break out of jail.  At that point he realized inspiration alone was not enough.  The inspiration (or resolution) needed to be good.  If it is a good resolution, it needs to be encouraged.)
To me, change often involves knowing what I want, and letting go.  If anyone else is anything like me, then often the harder I try, the more spectacularly I fail.  Those that know me know I am not afraid to admit that some things are beyond me.  What I want, and what I deliver, are often two very different things.
New Year is a chance for new beginnings though.  Specific dates are good.  I need to remember though, resolutions are not confined to the New Year.  Any time is right.  I just need to do what it takes.