I’ve heard it said, “What you do on the first day of the year will become your yearly practice.” Now, I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate (or even moderately so) but I do like the premise. Entering a new year can bring hope, if one is so inclined to seek it. However, another circle around the sun has the potential to be just that: another ol’ year. The attitude with which we lean into the turning of the calendar is what matters; perhaps this is what that sage advice up top meant…
Stepping from one day to another is fluid, often part of a schedule that seems to bleed one moment into the next. One day turns into a week, a week into a month, and then before we know it, we’re back on the first day of the year. But what has changed? Did we take the time to slow down and evaluate ourselves and our actions on a daily basis? On a weekly one? Did we take a moment to affect minor changes or did the race begin and we just started running?
I’ll be honest, a new year doesn’t mean much to me in terms of the mystical ‘it’s a blank slate’ mentality. It can be boiled down to remembering which year to fill in on web forms and doctor’s office visits. Yet, this is the very issue I am attempting to address. It should be more, at least in my opinion. A new year presents opportunity for change to occur with intentionality. Just like most habits tend to do better when one begins on a Monday rather than a Thursday (that’s actually true), most change on a macro level would seem fitting for January first, rather than July third.
What attitudes do you hope to embrace this year? Do you hold hopes of spiritual growth? Of discipleship? What changes are coming? A new child, a new job, retirement? How will you face them and with what attitude will you conduct yourself? I ask myself these questions and find that I don’t know—at least, I don’t know what will occur. I do know this, however: Whatever comes, it is not in my power to keep those moments from occurring. The control I have manifests itself in the form of how I respond.
If we can adopt a sense of hopefulness, if we can embrace our faith and nurture our spiritual lives, if we can be steeped in the word…then we will be able to approach this new chapter with our heads, hearts, and souls in check. The blending of days will still happen, but a sense of purpose and overall health will bloom within us. Then, and only then, will we be able to shift our perceptions from ones of negativity and jaded views, to ones of vitality in times of joy and faithful endurance in times of pain.
We can begin these changes on the first day of the week, month or year. But we must begin, so that in the Last day, we are prepared to meet God in faith, hope and love for that eternal chapter that never ends.
Happy New Year
Fr. Sean+