Opening the door of January, . . . what will it bring? Second chances, a new start, beginning again? Such thoughts may bubble up like the effervescence of New Year’s champagne and will hopefully continue with vitality and a freshness as we step into the new year with hope, purpose, and resolve.
I look out on a snowy meadow, the white flakes glistening on the bare hanger of branch. On that stark white outline before a blue sky, buds have emerged. Enclosed, compact, impervious. Little storehouses of energy . . . promises.
Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
From a chunk of stone, Michelangelo could imagine something beautiful . . . and made it so. He said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
As January unfolds and we embark on the remaining eleven months of the year, I wonder what will be? As yet vacant and unrealized, what is before us? Slab of stone. Bud on branch. I look at the cryptic tomb or womb of the future and wonder how it will go. What shall be the sculpting or blossoming of this coming year?
Here are a few encouraging thoughts:
What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others. —Nelson Mandela
Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, “It will be happier . . . ” — Alfred Tennyson
And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been. —Rainer Maria Rilke
I dream a dream that dreams back at me. —Toni Morrison
This is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong. —F. Scott Fitzgerald
Blessings! Blessings! Blessings!
Of course it is customary in many cultures across our beautiful bluegreen globe to offer a blessing to others for the upcoming year. Whether tradition finds you following the solar, lunisolar, or lunar calendar in your day-to-day living, New Year’s blessings abound for those who wish to give and receive them in the exuberance of good will. Wow! What a tradition. Blessings. Here are just a handful!
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
—An Irish Blessing
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L’Shana Tova
May the New Year bring you Hope, Peace, and Joy
—Jewish New Year Greetings
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Go Forward With Courage
When you are in doubt, be still and wait; when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage. So long as mists envelope you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists ––as it surely will. Then act with courage.
—Ponca Chief White Eagle
I’ve decided to lift my face up and receive all the blessings I can get this year! And yes, I plan to give as many blessings as possible, as well. In the pristine wonderment of just fallen snow, I hope you find new hope and fresh beginnings this January and throughout the coming months.
