And thus, it leaves us behind,
the most difficult year we’d yet find
We all hope that the coming one is better
But it wouldn’t be if we remain bitter
If we continue to hold on to the past
The joy of the New Year wouldn’t quite last
Real change & hope if we wish to see
That real change & hope must stem from me!
The year 2020, is now consigned to the annals of history and definitely, we are all happy to turn the calendar on what has, without doubt, been a strange and difficult year for each one of us. I am sure many have been eagerly waiting to just get out of 2020, and we now finally have done that. And that begs the question – now what?
Does a mere change in the date, account for any real change? Is the pandemic now over? Have our differences suddenly disappeared? Is it all hunky-dory now? And can we live our lives as carefree and happy as we would like to?
I don’t wish to rain on the New Year’s party but it is imperative to note that change in the New Year or any year for that matter is incumbent upon us. A new year is just notional if we don’t change in reality.
The Bible very pertinently talks about forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, to press on forward! Often times despite the changing of years, and seasons, and so much else – we don’t see a real change in people because it is so hard for us to leave the past behind. We are so enamoured by the past; we seem to carry it everywhere, all the time. It stalls our progress, slows us down and keeps us from realizing our potential.
So that brings me to my question that I began with – what will change 2021?
What will change 2021 is not the change of digits at the end of the date. What will truly change it is our willingness to move on. So many of us are stuck with so much of the past, it is now time to let go and press forward. Instead of being defined by what happened, if we can focus on defining what can happen – that will bring about real change.
Nations and societies seem to be so deeply focused on correcting historical inaccuracies and re-writing history books that we have forgotten that there is a present and a future yet to live. Thus, at the outset of the year 2021, as we all wish for a change in our fortunes, it is imperative to start that change with ourselves, with our thinking, and with our own lives.
