Buon giorno. Today is Wednesday, December 28, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven. This tired old year is almost over, thank God.
Over the past few years, I have taken an interest in New Year's Day. For years, it was always "just another day", and I admit that I still have some elements of that attitude even now. I am not interested in staying up until midnight and pretending that some kind of magic happens, capice?
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| Street iron work clock by Jon Sullivan |
No, the part that interests me is psychological. We can use the New Year to our advantage. All the hurrying, hustle and hassle of the Christmas season is pretty well behind us. Aside from taking down the tree and packing away the decorations (I wish them well, them what needs must take down the exterior illumination), we are on the path to getting back to our routines that have been frequently interrupted as of late.
Why am I writing like an intoxicated Victorian Englishman? Anyway...
If you are fond of making New Year's resolutions, fine, go for it. (But wise people have said not to do more than two of them, because people try too hard to remake themselves. Once you get those established, pick two more to begin at the first of the next month. Repeat as needed.) I do believe in setting goals because the first of the year works out well for target dates. Oh, and get a decent planner, notebook, online calendar system or whatever so you can write things down.
But there's something else that I want to point out: Clutter. Taking a page from the Tibetans, I think it is a good idea to have things tidied up before the first of the year. Do some cleaning, get the filing done, pay leftover bills, subscribe to blogs in your reader, unsubscribe to blogs you're not really looking at anymore, send out checks (I'll e-mail you my address if you want to send me money), repair that cabinet that should only take a half an hour anyway but you keep putting it off, find or replace your Bible so you can renew your commitment to daily reading, deliver those things you want to donate to the Salvation Army, take out the trash — getting those little things done ahead of time can feel very good.
One thing I'm toying with is scanning my science-related postage stamps to use for illustrations in my articles — beginning next year.
The Tibetans do not want anything going out of the house, neither money nor garbage. Their reasons are based in superstition and custom, but I can see the psychological appeal of avoiding loss. It's like programming your mind and setting a pattern. It could be worth a try.
At any rate, I wish you well in your clearing out and cleaning up in preparation for 2012.
