Sting featuring Stevie Wonder “Brand New Day”
The streets have been cleared. The bottles of cheap champagne and plastic cups disposed of. Friends are either icing down the painful first day of “I’m going to workout” resolutions or still recovering from the “I don’t remember any of the new photos posted on Facebook” antics of last night. Yes, it’s New Year’s Day!
Traditionally, only the first second to hour of this day are really important. We spend a lot of energy getting ready for the Eve. Parties, new party dresses under heavy winter coats, vague resolutions and sometimes desperate searches for someone ideal (or ideal enough at 11:55) to kiss at midnight. All (well, at least most) faults of the prior year are forgiven. It’ll be 2010 soon. I’ll/You’ll/The world’ll do better beginning January 1st. Despite specific feelings around New Year’s resolutions, everyone hopes the next year will be a good year, if not, a better one than last year. And with the economic downturn of ’08 and ’09, I know there are high hopes for a plateau, if not a steady climb out of this mess we’ve created for ourselves. But finances aside, what are you hoping 2010 will look like?
Of course, we’re all supposed to and I’m sure on some level do hope and/or pray for things like world peace, lower carbon footprints, higher literacy rates, greater human rights, saving the manatees and other such noble goals. But when you narrow it down to what’s both really important and really feasible in your world, what do you come up with?
In the past, I’ve pledged to do things like get in shape, be on time, call family and friends more often, actually save money (and keep it saved), and whatever other simple things I know I should be doing anyway. Despite the year I made that particular resolution, I still need to do all of those things. But I want something new for 2010. It’d be great to make all of those things real. But I want something very specific and new for this new year.
In the grand scheme of things, last year was just a little rocky. But in eyes of a 25-year-old, 2009 was scary and exciting. God tested and delivered me. Despite being laid off, depleting my savings, my dog attacking someone, losing my wife, being (somewhat painfully) reminded why I prefer to stay single, and whatever other shitty things that happened, as of 12/31/09, I was in good shape. I have a new job I (actually) enjoy, friends I’m blessed to be able to call on, family who has no choice but to love me :-), my weekends free for the first time in 3 1/2 years, a prospect of a real relationship, good health, steady income and the ability, the mindset and, hopefully, the heart to only strengthen all of these things.
Ever the pessimist/realist, I resolve to be happy in 2010. Of course, I won’t be able to completely stop plotting and planning for the worst. In fact, I hope I never do. But what I do need to work on is accepting the good just for the sake of it being good. Good things happen to me. I need to start enjoying them.
I received some great advice at the airport on my way home for the holidays. The lady checking IDs at the security checkpoint looked at my smiling ID photo (actually a really good picture) and said, “Smile more often. It’s a good look.” Thank you, ma’am. I fully intend to.
Actually looking forward to what 2010 has in store,
Jo’van
The Truth: According to Jo'van 