Friday, January 2, 2015

It's Clean Slate Time

Thought for the day:  Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right.  Oprah Winfrey

Janus  [Wikipedia]
This is the time of year I usually get a little two-faced. Like Janus, I find myself looking both backward and forward each time a new year begins. There's a certain sadness in closing the book on another year. A sense of loss for the people who've passed from our lives, nostalgia for joyous events now over and done with, and perhaps even a touch of regret for decisions made and opportunities missed. But, you know what? It's a BRAND NEW YEAR, people! It's okay to think about the past year, or even about all our past years, but let's not forget to look forward, too. If we spend too much time staring into the rear view mirror, how can we possibly appreciate the wide open road in front of us, and all the beautiful sights along the way?  Sure, we're all a year older, but doggone it, we're STILL Born to Be Wild. (sorta)



Okay, so we're not as young and fresh-faced as we used to be. Big whoop. We all have a brand new, soft-as-a-baby's-butt year ahead of us, and the possibilities are endless. We're all been given a clean slate, and it's up to us to grab the chalk and start scribbling.

I suppose the notion of a clean slate explains the age-old tradition of starting each new year with a long list of resolutions, and a determination to get it right. As Mark Twain said, Now is the time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

Do you make resolutions? Not me. The only resolution I make is not to make any resolutions. I mean, why set myself up for failure? This would be me: Dear Lord, so far this year, I've done really well. I haven't overeatensaid anything stupid, forgotten anything important, skipped my daily exercise, or forgotten to floss. I'm very thankful for that, but in a few minutes, I have to actually get out of bed, and from then on, I'm probably gonna need a lot of help.

Oscar Wilde said, Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account. And, well, golly, I sure don't want to do that, now, do I? Better to make plans or set goals, but for me? Never, never, never call it a resolution.

[Morguefile image]


An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in; a pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  Bill Vaughn

Whether you consider yourself an optimist or pessimist, 2014 is kaput. It's a clear case of in one year and out the other. Perhaps the champagne bottle is empty, and the candles extinguished, but there will be other bottles, and hope can always light the way, if you let it.

And, you know what? If you think about it, what lies behind us doesn't really matter all that much, and neither does what lies before us. When you get right down to it, the most important thing is what lies within us.





HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! [Morguefile image]

In the new year, may your right hand be stretched out in friendship, but never in want.

Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.


61 comments:

  1. Oh My Goodness !
    Love the video.
    Happy New Year to You and your family.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Oh my goodness! You were the first one to comment on this post!

      I'm glad you liked the video. It always cracks me up.

      And a very Happy New Year to you and your family, too.

      Cheers back atcha.

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    2. I know it shocked me too !
      Since I am way out west I usually read late and my comment is about # 64
      hahahahaha

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  2. I love that born to be wild video!
    I never make resolutions either and I never look back on a year with any regret. Yes, I may have made mistakes, but mistakes are part of life. We learn and move on. There is simply no point in dwelling on them or spending a lifetime saying "what if". Take your brand new 2015 page and write it full of happy experiences.

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    1. That video cracks me up, too. (Even if it IS a little too close to being true.)

      Happy New Year! I hope you write lots of good stuff onto your 2015 pages, too.

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  3. Loved the Bored Tubby Mild video! "In the new year, may your right hand be stretched out in friendship, but never in want," is a wonderful wish for us all! Thank you for an amazing year, Susan! Looking forward to more laughs in 2015! Happy and healthy New Year to you, and your lovely family!

    Julie

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    1. Thank YOU for an amazing year, Julie. It's been great getting to know you better.

      Happy New Year to you and your crew, too. Here's to a better year for all of us.

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  4. Hi Susan - Happy New Year to you and yours .. and yes - put out your hand in friendship with a warming smile to welcome their hand ... Love the video - and I never make resolutions .. just get on with life ... have fun, enjoy those grandkids ... and the Merlot and the champers ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi-ya, Hilary. Happy New Year!!!

      May your new year be filled with many more wonderful adventures, discoveries, and surprises. Cheers!

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  5. Happy New Year Susan... I too am not one of those people that make resolutions... I do however; make goals through out the year ... I rarely stay up until midnight to ring in the New Year ... not sure if that makes me a pessimist or optimist... lol

    Anyhow, I hope you are a having a really great new year and a fun weekend... :)

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    1. Happy New Year, Launna! Not staying up until midnight neither makes you an optimist nor a pessimist; it makes you more well-rested than most of us.

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  6. Frankly, I am rather disturbed at how much I have come to resemble the aging male boomer in that cartoon. Yeah, I became eligible to join AARP back in November.

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    1. HA! Not much point in getting disturbed about it. Happens to all of us. It starts the first time we catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror and realize that our reflection looks more like our parent... or worse, our grandparent... than a sweet or hunky young thing. All we can do after that is avoid mirrors and try to enjoy our place in society as an "elderly" person. (I kinda like it.)

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  7. Lol @ the video.

    I thought back to what I learned in 2014 and how I want to move forward in my goals in 2015. I didn't stay up, but was fast asleep. New Year's already happened in the other time zones.

    Happy New Year.

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    1. I'm glad you liked the video. (Easy for YOU to laugh at it!)

      Happy New Year to you, too.

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  8. I'm not big on resolutions either. Never have been. I do have things I want to accomplish this year. Besides that, I really need to get better at Letting Stuff Go.

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    1. Getting better at letting stuff go is a healthy thing to do, whether you call it a resolution or not. (Sometimes the psychological side of just CALLING it that trips us up.)

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  9. Dear Susan,
    I wish you a Happy New Year!
    Well: resolutions (in Germany we call them: good intentions - that is a bit weaker than resolutions...) - I sometimes have some, and sometimes they even work out. As a realistic optimist I count what is good and most often forget what was not that ideal.
    I love the fresh start - or the idea of it - at New Year - but I am also the person who actually does love Mondays...

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    1. Dear Britta,

      Happy New Year to you, too! "Good intentions" has a bit of a bad connotation for me, because my grandmother... who, of course, knew absolutely everything... told me the road to hell is paved with them.

      I'm with you. Better to be a realistic optimist. And you should love Mondays! Poor things don't get nearly enough love...

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  10. born to be wild indeed. Last year, Ray and I had a motto "Don't Fall Down". We succeeded. We shall keep that and build with our new motto - "Do Stuff". Now, New Year's Day was darn lazy, but Jan 2nd we are doing some stuff. We keep expectations low to avoid failure. All the best to you for 2015

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    1. HA! "Don't fall down," huh? I think that was the motto of the Atlanta Falcons this year. (Didn't stop 'em from falling on their faces, though.)

      Happy New Year to you and yours. May we all keep on "doing stuff" for a long time to come.

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  11. Hey Susan,

    Yep, wipe the slate clean and start again. The old year is now sliding into the history books.

    No resolutions for this dude either. I try to keep things nice and simple to go along with my personality. I have decided to take up skateboarding. Watch the old dude dazzle the young folks with my skateboarding tricks.

    Have a most excellent 2015, Susan.

    Gary

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    1. Hey, Gary.

      By all means, skateboard! (I hope you're better at it than I used to be! My biggest achievement was making it to the bottom of a hill without killing myself.)

      You have a most excellent 2015, too, dude.

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  12. Nice post! I agree wholeheartedly that what lies within us is what's most important. And I love new years simply for the clean slate aspect.

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. Happy New Year. May you fill your clean slate with joy.

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  13. What a lovely post, Susan!
    I agree with you. What lies within is what matters the most. During this time of the year my mind flies away to be close to my loved ones. It flies away to times that belong to the past, to the land of the dreams, and to be among the loved ones who are no longer here.
    It is a very spiritual time of the year.
    Thank you for this beautiful post.

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    1. Thanks, Julia! I'm glad you liked it. Yes, you're right; there is a somewhat spiritual flavor to this time of year.

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  14. Amen to this! I can only hope that 2015 will be as good as past years but without any of the bad stuff. Nothing wrong with dreaming, but more than that action will be my most important steps into the future.

    Blessings to you--a bunch of them.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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    1. A bunch of blessings to you, too. Ah, a man of action! May your actions in the new year help make your best dreams come true.

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  15. I like the sound of that, having a clean slate and starting over. No more looking back and regretting what cannot be undone.
    Hope 2015 proves to be a wonderful year for you and yours. :)

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    1. I like the idea of having a clean slate, too. Let's cover the whole darned thing with bright splashy colors, shall we?

      I hope 2015 is a wonderful year for you and your family, too.

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  16. Too much looking back, especially in regret, won't bring anything. Not sure who said it...Don't look back - you're not going that way.

    Loved the video. It's so damn true!

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    1. Yep, you're right. If we're spending all our time looking backward, we aren't moving forward.

      That video is a hoot, isn't it? Not true about YOU, though. You're getting more physically fit all the time.

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  17. Lovely post, Susan. I don't make resolutions because I think they prime us for failure, but I do set goals for guidance. The real difference between a goal and a resolution is that you can (and probably will) break a resolution. You can't break a goal, although if you're not careful, the goal can break you.

    That video is hysterical! Maybe a little too on the mark, tho'. :)

    Happy New Year!

    VR Barkowski

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    1. Thanks! Yeah, big difference between resolutions and goals. Those resolutions usually end up being lofty and unrealistic promises to self that get broken before the end of January. Goals are more down-to-earth and realistic.

      That video is definitely too close to the mark.

      Happy New Year to you, too!

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  18. If only it really was a clean slate. I seem to have quite a lot of junk piled up on my slate from last year. Is it just mine? Happy new year and may all your resolutions come true.

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    1. At least it can be a clean slate psychologically. A fresh start. Sure, there's still some stuff left over from last year, but that's okay. I think if I ever finished everything I want to do within any given year, it would totally freak me out.

      Happy New Year to you, too!

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  19. I think this is all oh so true. I like the clean slate of a new year, I don't know why...but I do. I also don't make resolutions, usually. I am still working on the same goal I have been for the last two years prior. Hoping to get that done, though it's more of a goal than a resolution. :) Happy New Year to you!

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    1. Me, too. It could be that the clean slate analogy is particularly appealing to our optimistic side. (And with a name like Rosey, I KNOW you're optimistic, right?)

      Happy New Year to you, too.

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  20. Love the possibilities that open up as a New Year dawns! I'm really looking forward to this year - why not - anything is possible! :)

    Have a great New Year!

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    1. Yes! At the beginning of a bright and shiny new year, it feels like just about anything is possible, doesn't it? Go for it!

      Here's wishing you a great year, too.

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  21. Oh, I would definitely like a new slate to start over!

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    1. You may not be able to completely "start over," but you do have a brand new year to work with. It's up to you to decide where you want to start.

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  22. For 2015 I took up smoking and then instantly gave it up. See? Resolutions aren't so hard.

    Okay, so I don't make resolutions either. If I want to do something, I just do it. Exercising: not just for January.

    Happy belated New Year! We hope 2015 brings you many great things.

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    1. HA! That's one way to create your own successful resolutions.

      Happy belated New Year to you, too. I hope your writing career continues to bloom.

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  23. Susan, love Bill Vaughn's quote. I'm a helpless eternal optimist and that's what helps keep me going.

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    1. Yeah, I like that quote, too. I'm also an eternal optimist, or as I put it, a "pathological" optimist.

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  24. Happy New Year! Hope 2015 is an awesome one for you ♥

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  25. I woke up on January 3rd in a bad mood and feeling negative. It was icing outside and the day looked ominous.

    The snow today is light and beautiful and I saw the sunshine come out right before the daylight ended. Now I am making vacation plans. Things do turn around if you let the light in.

    Hope your 2015 has many sunny days.

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    1. I'm glad the negativity made way for the sunshine, and I hope it stays with you the rest of the year. (Okay, so you're allowed an occasional dark day... Gotta have some balance.)

      Happy New Year!

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  26. What a lovely quote. True, too!

    Happy New Year, and congratulations on your blog's second anniversary. May this year be even better for both you and your blog. Keep those beautiful photographs coming!

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  27. I saw a quote on Facebook last week that went something like..."Today is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one."

    Yup. Sounds like a plan.

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    1. Oooh, I like that. Great way to express it.

      Yup. Sounds like a plan to me, too.

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  28. I love the "what lies within us" quote. You are fantastic, Susan. I needed this today!

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  29. Hope you're having a great start to the new year Susan! I don't make resolutions exactly but I do make a goals list of things I'd like to do during the year. I'm a list maker by nature so it just happens. lol But I'm not one that gets upset if I don't make them all I just want to "attempt" them all and hopefully some will turn out :)

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    1. So far, so good. My plan was to keep on breathing, and so far, my plan has been a rousing success!

      I think making a list of goals is a good way to approach the clean slate of a new year. Goals give us a renewed sense of purpose. As for you, I'll bet you meet the vast majority of the goals you set for yourself.



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    2. Hopefully :) But if not it's okay. And sometimes they change as the year goes by and my focus does. So a little fluidity with them :)

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