New Year…. Some reflections

New Year…. Some reflections

When we get ready to shed the burdens of a year gone by, into the blinding flares and firework, filled with the promises and unseen prospects of yet another gift of 365 days, there are a few things we, unfailingly every one of us, feel we could have done differently in the same number of days gone by. Mistakes that happened, miscalculated steps that misfired or imagined plans of progress and wrongly perceived fears that never materialised. In fact almost every mind that awaits a new year, would choose to look backward with an eye of a critique’. No one really cares for all those things that we managed to scrape out of nothing, those occasions when we crawled out of the pit. In fact we only look at the victorious stand we took on the podium as success, not at how we succeeded when disaster stared at us.

We also look back at those around us and find that there are more complaints than gratitude – back and forth. We look at the pains caused by those close to us with magnifying glasses. This is when one gets reminded of the fable of the porcupine. The Fable of the Porcupine is a tale of the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions. After a while, they decided to distance themselves one from the other. And they started dying, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice. Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds and pains caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the warmth that came from the others and their togetherness. This way they were able to survive. The moral here is that the best group is not the one that is made up of perfect friends, brothers, sisters and relatives, but by each individual member learning to live with the imperfections of others and yet admire the other person’s good qualities.

We sure were hurt by others but none had hurt us more than we did to ourselves. Most of what came upon us were the fruits of what we did to ourselves. In fact we often forgot what our strengths were and instead of reaping the fruits of those strengths, went out of our ways to fight weaknesses, that we had no control over. And when we lie wounded or tired, most ignored us, pretending not to see. And at least some took chances at poking us, painfully, for easy gains and sometimes just for the sadistic delight in seeing the pains. These we carry forward, vengefully, forgetting that there were a few who came forth with hands of love. The law of nature says that hatred always precedes love, sorrow over happiness and fear over confidence. This is why looking back can be painful, and sometimes not quite useful. And ultimately we forget what we are and what we actually possess.

Each of us is born with something special, a gift that’s only given just to us, a talent or a quirk or a way of seeing life, a knack of finding light amidst the dust. It’s your special little gift that’s going to take you, to the places you’ve dreamed of in your head, it will open doors and bring in souls who marvel at your skills, it will harvest joy and chase away the dread. (Donna Ashworth).

Meaningful words indeed. Let us strengthen our strength and fend off our weaknesses. May we look forward to a year of peace above all. May God gives a prosperous New Year.