The magic of the new year consists in new beginnings – in the fresh energy that we receive to start anew and to apply ourselves hopefully to our desires and plans, without the weight of so many accumulated disappointments and expectations of failure.
That’s not to say that our streak will be perfect – that our resolutions will never falter or flag. Of course they will. But it’s helpful, I think, to start out with a little bit of that idealism that the new year usually brings: a push in the right direction, an extra measure of optimism to give some gas to the initiation of our efforts to be better, happier people.
And when we eventually realize that we can’t uphold our resolutions perfectly, it won’t really matter, because we will have at least taken a step or two forward and tasted the goodness of a healthy habit – and that may be enough to get us back on track, and to remind us of the “possibility of higher things,” as we live out the reality of our messy days in the weeks and months to come.
Happy New Year.