Old year out, new year in
By Bill Shepard
Old Year out, New Year in – Another ending and a new beginning. We go through our lives it seems, ending and beginning. New beginnings present challenges and we seem to like them. It might be that they bring out the best in us. Our first big hurtle is when we begin our first year in school. Being out from under our mother’s watchful eye, and in the hands of total strangers is no easy challenge. We go from primary to intermediate, and so on to the finish line of our elementary schools years. We then face a total new beginning in high school, then on to college. Challenges do not end with our high school diploma, college years present a new and more difficult challenge. After that, there is usually marriage and our challenges really change.
Bill Shepard
One can carry this on to the ultimate ending that awaits us all. Indeed, we spend all of our lives going from one ending to another beginning. Now, those of us, who have survived all of the challenges of the now ending year, find ourselves at the threshold of another beginning. Our experiences of the past year, hopefully, have better equipped us to face the New. Not always, but sometimes, we learn from our past experiences and we avoid those that have been harmful to us.
We have heard it said, that we can learn from other’s mistakes, but most learning comes from our own mistakes. We learn the fire is hot when we experience the burn. Someone has said that the only things that we really know are those that we experience for ourselves. I can believe that fire is hot but after touching it I can say “I know it!”
So, here we are at the dawning of the brand new year. A new beginning is about to present itself to us. I feel much like the one the poet writes about in the following lines:
“He came to my desk with a quivering lip, The lesson done.
“Dear Teacher, I want a new leaf,” he said. “I have spoiled this one.”
In place of the leaf so stained and blotted, I gave him a new one all unspotted,
And into his said eyes smiled, “Do better now, my child.” (Kathleen Wheeler)
No doubt most of us, if not all, can pictures ourselves in that position. I will be the first to plead guilty!
With one foot still in the Old Year, there is a moment left to look back before letting it go, let it go, we must. We cannot change one iota of what has been written on its pages. Not one act, nor one harsh word can be recalled; not even the unkind thought we might have had can we change. Our best hope is that we may profit from those experiences and try harder to avoid them in our new challenge. Be thankful that you have been given the opportunity to do better.
The new year comes with twelve full months, three hundred and sixty five crisp new pages on which we are to write. None of us have the assurances that we will turn all of the pages, nor make a mark on them, but we are thankful for the beginning.
Let us travel lightly into the New Year. Some things are best left behind. Rid yourself of envying, jealousies, and hatreds; they are much too weighty for the journey ahead. Instead, take on Faith, Hope and a Forgiving spirit. Forgive others of the wrongs you feel were committee against you. Refuse to allow them even the tiniest space on your new page.
Now forgive yourself! It does little to forgive others unless we forgive ourselves. Sure, you may have made mistakes, had unkind thoughts, acted unwisely; admit it, forgive yourself and move on. Refuse to carry self-guilt another day. You should feel better already. Now step over the finish line to a brand new start. You can do it, go ahead! The death knell of the Old Year has sounded and you are off to a Brand New Beginning. Good Luck!
A Backward Glance
It stood before us clean and white. Like a freshly lit and glowing candle it burned to give light to our path into the unknown. It was faithful for twelve long months, 365 days. We were too busy with all the things it presented us with that we hardly noticed it was burning low. We heard it gasp its last breath and watched it flicker into the night. It was gone! Now it takes its places along with all the others that have come and gone. It leaves behind many memories, both good and bad.
It came pure and white, unmarred and unstained. It left stained by the hands of those it came to serve. It presented to us more than we have expected and far more than we had planned for. Airlines disasters rocked our nation, while acts of terrorism were carried out around the world. We know the answer to questions of ‘Why’ before we ask them. Evil men are capable of the most dastardly acts and will continue to perform them for as long as they remain on the face of the earth. We who have ‘faith’ look forward to a time when these things will not be.
Now we stand on the threshold of a brand new year. The candle is lit and burning lightly. The finger beckons us to follow and gives us no choice. We take one last glance at the old year. A feeling of sadness creeps in as we hear the sound of Auld Lang Syne fading away. The party is over, a new year dawns! It is time to start anew. We recall the words written by another – to every man there is presented a page on which to write – having written comes night!
The challenge is ours! What shall we write? Happy New Year everybody!
Mr. Shepard is a native of Darlington, S.C., and a current resident of Piedmont, S.C. He is the author of “Mill Town Boy” and “Bruised”. He has been sharing his tales of growing up in Darlington for decades, and we are delighted to share them each week. His mailing address for cards and letters is: Bill Shepard 324 Sunny Lane, Piedmont, S.C., 29673