Sort of New
Tue 11 Jan 2011 Filed in: Reflections
Happy New Year (No, I’m not late. It’s still January, and when you’re retired, that’s close enough.) After a week and a half of mutual new year greetings, the analytical slice of my brain has started to examine those simple, oft-shared three words. My personal hope for 2011 is the same as my wish for Christmas: mellow. After the adventures of the last three years, I think mellow would be both happy and new. I’ll aim for mellow, but I can’t guarantee it; there is much that is beyond my ability to control.
I’ve noticed these past few days how easily the new can slip back into the old. I try to visit my friend the treadmill several times a week. The first Monday of the year, the gym was as crowded as I’ve seen it. Lots of people showed up to fulfill the newness of their resolution. Fast forward one week and the crowd has disappeared. Most of the cardio equipment sits unused, and I have my choice of treadmills. Could that many of my fellow new-year-exercisers have suddenly discovered the proverbial road to hell that is paved with good intentions?
The trouble with hanging on to the new is letting go of the old. Some old stuff is worth keeping. The changing of a year should not erase valued friendships or happy memories. Last week I came across a folder of Matt’s with old annual evaluations in it that had me laughing at his humor and weeping at his tenderness. Neither the journey of loss nor the journey of joy is interrupted by the edges of January.
How much of the old can I hang on to while still grasping the new? How much of the new can I grasp without letting go of the old? Perhaps January is a time for discernment.
Happy sort-of-new year.
I’ve noticed these past few days how easily the new can slip back into the old. I try to visit my friend the treadmill several times a week. The first Monday of the year, the gym was as crowded as I’ve seen it. Lots of people showed up to fulfill the newness of their resolution. Fast forward one week and the crowd has disappeared. Most of the cardio equipment sits unused, and I have my choice of treadmills. Could that many of my fellow new-year-exercisers have suddenly discovered the proverbial road to hell that is paved with good intentions?
The trouble with hanging on to the new is letting go of the old. Some old stuff is worth keeping. The changing of a year should not erase valued friendships or happy memories. Last week I came across a folder of Matt’s with old annual evaluations in it that had me laughing at his humor and weeping at his tenderness. Neither the journey of loss nor the journey of joy is interrupted by the edges of January.
How much of the old can I hang on to while still grasping the new? How much of the new can I grasp without letting go of the old? Perhaps January is a time for discernment.
Happy sort-of-new year.
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