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New Year’s means different things to different people. It is a time to prepare taxes; a time to reflect on and look towards the previous and upcoming 365 days, a time to make promises (and then break them) and it is one of the only two days during of the year when grown men can wear diapers in public and get away with it.
For me, New Year’s typically comes and goes without much fanfare. Most of the time it means nothing more than wearing earplugs to drown out the late night fireworks, a workplace rife with hung over co-workers and two weeks of writing wrong years on checks and paperwork. And I never, ever make New Year’s resolutions.
I think they are a bit foolish and often I hear friends and family make promises they know they will not keep. They make these unattainable promises anyway, even though there is an almost certain expectation of failure. It is an accepted annual charade for the willfully delusional, and I have always refused to take part. But, I guess there is a first time for everything.
This year I have made myself a “promise” for the next year.
Yes, I call it a “promise”, dismissing what it actuallyis and refusing to admit that even under casual scrutiny it would be considered a “resolution” without much debate. The fact that it comes during the New Year is purely coincidental. Hey, I have my own willful delusions to uphold.
A few weeks ago I was sitting around a table with some friends and acquaintances. The type of table where discussions of spirituality, personal growth and self-reflection are commonplace. We all have tables like this and if you don’t, I highly recommend you find one.
Amidst various readings my mind drifted in and out, more concerned with the starting rotation of the 2012 Red Sox than the wonderful bits of insight flying around the room. Until something caught my ear, a brief segment of a passage, a tidbit of a much larger body of text.
I couldn’t tell you then and I most certainly can’t tell you now what the point of it was, but I very clearly heard the words, ‘finding refreshment.’
The word ‘refreshment’ is a fairly common buzzword, watered down by years of advertising. From soda pop to oil-free facial scrubs to the newest peppermint chewing gum, it’s overused and has long ago lost its luster. But it stuck with me and I began to think about the word… “refreshment.”
New Year’s means different things to different people. It is a time to prepare taxes; a time to reflect on and look towards the previous and upcoming 365 days, a time to make promises (and then break them) and it is one of the only two days during of the year when grown men can wear diapers in public and get away with it.
For me, New Year’s typically comes and goes without much fanfare. Most of the time it means nothing more than wearing earplugs to drown out the late night fireworks, a workplace rife with hung over co-workers and two weeks of writing wrong years on checks and paperwork. And I never, ever make New Year’s resolutions.
I think they are a bit foolish and often I hear friends and family make promises they know they will not keep. They make these unattainable promises anyway, even though there is an almost certain expectation of failure. It is an accepted annual charade for the willfully delusional, and I have always refused to take part. But, I guess there is a first time for everything.
This year I have made myself a “promise” for the next year.
Yes, I call it a “promise”, dismissing what it actuallyis and refusing to admit that even under casual scrutiny it would be considered a “resolution” without much debate. The fact that it comes during the New Year is purely coincidental. Hey, I have my own willful delusions to uphold.
A few weeks ago I was sitting around a table with some friends and acquaintances. The type of table where discussions of spirituality, personal growth and self-reflection are commonplace. We all have tables like this and if you don’t, I highly recommend you find one.
Amidst various readings my mind drifted in and out, more concerned with the starting rotation of the 2012 Red Sox than the wonderful bits of insight flying around the room. Until something caught my ear, a brief segment of a passage, a tidbit of a much larger body of text.
I couldn’t tell you then and I most certainly can’t tell you now what the point of it was, but I very clearly heard the words, ‘finding refreshment.’
The word ‘refreshment’ is a fairly common buzzword, watered down by years of advertising. From soda pop to oil-free facial scrubs to the newest peppermint chewing gum, it’s overused and has long ago lost its luster. But it stuck with me and I began to think about the word… “refreshment.”
The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it and the more I wanted it, the more committed I became to finding more of it.
Too often amidst work and family I don’t take time to recharge. Sure, I come home and sit on the couch and watch television. I kick up my feet and relax, but refreshment and relaxation are two completely different things.
When I find refreshment, I feel whole again. It makes me feel human. I notice beauty that I may have been ignoring and the people around me seem lees like strangers. It cultivates my optimism and trust.
But it’s elusive. Sometimes I find it while painting or drawing. Sometimes I find it while laughing or hugging. I’ve found it on the peak of a mountain, on a long stretch of highway and on the bleached plastic top of a weatherworn picnic table at a birthday party in the park. It is ever changing and unpredictable.
On a recent vacation I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing about how to spend my time. Trips out of town and visits to friends were fun, but left me more exhausted than anything else. I found true refreshment on my last day off, curled up in a chair, blanket over my feet reading a chapter of a book I’ve read a hundred times. The house was empty and quiet; my coffee was perfectly bitter and lingered somewhere between “kinda hot” and room temperature. Refreshing bliss, unexpected.
So, as this year ends and I look towards what will almost certainly be another eventful year, I’ve made myself this promise. No matter how elusive, no matter the rarity, no matter the sacrifices, I will seek out every available opportunity to find true refreshment and I recommend you do the same.
