Towards a new dawn

Nobody says goodbye to the past, but carries it onward with a newer perception.

It is the resilience of the human psyche that encourages us to look ahead. The resolutions made, armed with a litany of desirable and not so desirable tasks, we forge ahead. The wishes come streaming from all sides. “Happy New Year!”; you hear the resonance  of excitement and you respond. Another year, but is happiness time-bound?

My daughter, Shivy, is a counsellor and sometimes, she chooses places that are really far away from where we live. So, I offer to drive with her, unsure of the hazards of our times. I have, however, always been surprised! We once visited a de-addiction centre. At least, three doors were unlocked before we were led to the main office, even as I acutely heard the just-opened locks clamping back to a close from behind.

The locks appeared to me as willing closures to problems that people have taken to; like the vow of a desperate soul in penitence. The people there like the locks that secure them from addiction. They enjoy the counselling. The patients love the food and appreciate the attention and care they receive. They are very respectful of the fact that there are people who are not shackled by compulsion or addiction like them.

A smile touches upon my face as a thought filters through; a thought of the number of people in malls, ‘oniomanics’ – me included – who sift through every rack on the clothesline of their favourite brands. Then, there is an image of the fervent schooler who is trying hard to ace his fifth paper. There is the ambitious father who wants to leave behind a comfortable lifestyle for his children and the worry of the mother, who knows her husband has let down their children. There is a preoccupation and a compulsion in us all. There is the shackle of a desire unfulfilled, a task left undone.

This day, this year, is a reminder that never mind, there is a tomorrow to heed our trouble and a well-wisher to urge our ambition. Nobody says goodbye to the past, but they carry it onwards with a newer perception. In this insightfulness, there may or may not be the answers we seek, but have you ever realised there is a different sort of acuity in resignation? A newer view on life simply seems to emerge.

The exultant crowd surging onto the streets in the dead of the night bygone, is just a prelude to the pledge of “let’s try again”. The renewal of a time to re-start all our efforts, and to remind ourselves that there are no failures. It is all about the way we look at life and its challenges, the smile we keep, the cheer we spread and the earnest bonhomie we share in the words “Happy New Year!”