The new year is around the corner. And never has there been a time when a new year was this needed. I have never been the superstitious type – attaching patterns of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to artificial measurements of time (after all, the new year used to start in March, which is why October comes with the greek prefix “octo” or “eight” and December with the greek prefix “deca” or “ten”). That said, I cannot ignore the fact that the past 15 months or so have been the most challenging in my lifetime.
There are two ways to come out of calamity and tragedy. One is to let it eat you up and become a former shadow of who you were. The other is to grab fate by the balls and command it, imposing your own will to live happily and confidently, a phoenix of sorts, more glorious than its previous incarnation.
But where is the fork in the road? What are the qualities that you need to adopt to ensure you fall on the right side of the history that is your life? Does one pursue small, incremental changes or does one dare to jump outside the box altogether and bear the brunt of it all?
I don’t have answers to any of these questions. But I think I need to believe that I will have the ability to make the right choices, even if up until now I have failed so many times. Life may be a box of chocolates, and you may never truly know what you’re going to get, but you can always ensure you go at each piece with hope and faith that milk chocolate praline is only a taste away.
So what of this new year. Quit drinking? Quit drugs? Rather than imposing changes by forcing subtractions from one’s life, maybe it is best to add a new passion to life, one that will drown out the negativity and bad habits. One that will salvage your soul and keep you afloat in the ceaseless storm of survival.
A new passion. A new hobby. A new man. A new job. A new life.
There are two ways to come out of calamity and tragedy. One is to let it eat you up and become a former shadow of who you were. The other is to grab fate by the balls and command it, imposing your own will to live happily and confidently, a phoenix of sorts, more glorious than its previous incarnation.
But where is the fork in the road? What are the qualities that you need to adopt to ensure you fall on the right side of the history that is your life? Does one pursue small, incremental changes or does one dare to jump outside the box altogether and bear the brunt of it all?
I don’t have answers to any of these questions. But I think I need to believe that I will have the ability to make the right choices, even if up until now I have failed so many times. Life may be a box of chocolates, and you may never truly know what you’re going to get, but you can always ensure you go at each piece with hope and faith that milk chocolate praline is only a taste away.
So what of this new year. Quit drinking? Quit drugs? Rather than imposing changes by forcing subtractions from one’s life, maybe it is best to add a new passion to life, one that will drown out the negativity and bad habits. One that will salvage your soul and keep you afloat in the ceaseless storm of survival.
A new passion. A new hobby. A new man. A new job. A new life.
