Well, another year has now been removed from our collective calendar of life and we find ourselves poised at the precipice of a new one. The conundrum we encounter each year is that looking ahead from the front end, the ensuing 365 days seems to most of us to be an ample timeframe to make long-term plans and establish goals and resolutions for the future. However, as we approach the end of each year, we marvel at how those 365 days seem to have vanished in the blink of an eye.
The hope that is an integral component of each of us calls us to thoughts of each new year being happier than its former. While we all know deep down in our heart and soul that any change, be it for better or for worse, for the most part will not happen for us without some personal stimuli or investment on our part. What then is the appropriate way for us to embrace and embark on the coming new year?
At this time of the year, when pondering my future and those whom I love and cherish, I can’t help but recall the following verses penned by “the poet of the people,” Edgar Guest as being an exceptional attitudinal roadmap for a happy new year. It also reflects my fervent wish for each of you in 2015:
May love and laughter lead you
Down the pathways of the year,
And may each morning feed you
From the golden spoon of cheer;
May every eye be shining,
And every cheek aglow,
And may the silver lining
Of the clouds forever show.
May peace and plenty find you,
May pain and grief depart;
And may you leave behind you
The little cares that smart;
May no day be distressful,
No night be filled with woe,
And may you be successful
Wherever you may go.
May June bring you her roses,
May summer poppies bloom,
And may each day that closes
Be fragrant with perfume.
May you have no regretting
When evening is begun,
No vain and idle fretting
O’er what you might have done.
May envy quit your dwelling
And hatred leave your heart;
May you rejoice in telling
Your brother’s better part.
May you be glad you’re living
However dark your way,
And find your joy in giving
Your service to the day.
Not only is there a right to be happy, there is a duty to be happy. So much sadness exists in the world that we are all under obligation to contribute as much joy as lies within our powers. – John Sutherland Bonnell
Have an AWE-full weekend and AWE-fully Happy New Year!