Happy New Year Wishes

Each English calendar new year comes with hope and cheer and the possibilities are unlimited!

Darshan of Mahaprabhu

I remember the past celebrations when we started the year with a darshan of Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu at Puri Dham, Odisha.

Those were the days when there was no internet, smartphone or social media.

Now, we can end and start with darshan anywhere and anytime.

Heartiest Wishes for-
- New day
- New week
- New month
- New year 🎊

May this brand new year 2024 be a wonderful & eventful year 🗓 filled with lots of goodness, happiness & cheer for all by the grace of Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu 🙌

Jaya Shree Jagannatha 🙏
ଜୟ ଶ୍ରୀ ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ🙏 https://t.co/KvL5cFiTUD pic.twitter.com/ZRwiUZ4tYO

— Anita Sabat - ଡ. ଅନୀତା ସାବତ (@anitaexplorer) January 1, 2024

Now, what we want to do "darshan" and what we want to share is totally up to us!

Darshan of Digital Wish Messages

We get to greet a brand new year in the digital age with digital wish messages.

Like for every new year, this year too many of us received many "Happy New Year" messages via social media, especially WhatsApp.

When I spoke to my sister on New Year's Day, she said that she spent the majority of her time on 31st December and 1st January sending wish messages and replying to "Happy New Year" wishes!

Many can perhaps identify with this.

Awareness & Acceptance

Checking some beautiful New Year images/video messages, I could see many had fancy graphics, wise quotes and sincere wishes.

One had sparkling fireworks wishing "365 days"!

"Wishing you 365 days of sunshine and adventures galore in the new year."

Truly appreciate all the wishes. But, this year 2024, being a leap year, has 366 days.

Yes, an additional day- a full 24 hours!

Some had mindlessly copied messages and forwarded incorrect information.

I made mental notes to be more aware.

I believe we all need to be responsible and accountable.  

Accept that everything isn't the same and cannot follow the same pattern.

Agree that most years have 365 days.

But, time to accept- some have 366 too!

Just because every minute has 60 seconds, every hour has 60 minutes, every day has 24 hours, every week has 7 days, and every fortnight has 14 days etc., does not make them all the same.

Every moment is unique and special.

We need to be aware and take care and perhaps that will put life in things in the things in our life.

Change, Choice & Endless Possibilities

When the year ends, there is a lot of reflection, guilt and remorse for opportunities or deadlines missed.

But, we are richer with the lessons that we have learned and the experience that we have earned.

The saying goes, "The old order yields a way for the new."

These learnings are always there-

• What is gone is gone
• Change is inevitable
• Time and tide wait for none 

"The more we change how we look at things, the more the things we look at change".

Change is in us.

A brand new year makes no difference as long as we do not change.

We are still the old wine in the old bottle perhaps in the same old room.

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a New Year, it is that we should have a new Soul." - G.K. Chesterton

Each year, my father gifts me some diaries for the New Year.

The supportive soul that he is, he encourages with his hearty words and blessings.

There are so many blank pages. I can fill them with whatever I choose!

I am the writer, the creator of possibilities.

I can choose the colour of the ink in my pen.

If I do not feel like using a pen, I can use a pencil.

I may choose to write or not write at all.

I can document the stories of the artists, artisans, farmers and all I speak.

I can write only the good words I hear.

Or I can and must list all that they say behind my back with my solutions and counter-attack.

I can write about my pains and fears.

Or I can consciously list how many times I smiled and how many smiles I got back.

Should I write about those whom I helped with kind words and motivation?

The words of encouragement that I shared and the acknowledgements I received?

I can enumerate my expenses or what I did or have To-Do lists with things to do and tasks to accomplish.

Own My Own Time

My time is my own.

I got a one-page calendar. The whole year stares at my face.

The year has changed. Last year too there were many calendars and also one-page ones.

The days of the dates have changed. 

Last year's January 1st was a Sunday, this year it is a Monday. Days come and go with the years.

If 2024 is an ocean, I am still at my shore with my boat. 

Is my boat ready to sail and to face the storms on the way?

Sailing away to my destination depends on my navigational skills.

No one will steer my boat. I have to do that myself.

The time will pass if I just stand and stare, safely anchoring my boat and standing on the shore...

Resolution

A friend shared:

"Resolutions are meant to be broken."

There were some well-meaning suggestions: 

"Don't visit gym/park from Jan 1st to 5th- you will find many new faces. From 6th January onwards, they may no longer visit & gyms and parks will be back to normal!"

Another message:

"Every year you make a resolution to change yourself.

This year make a resolution to be yourself."

My resolution is to manage my mind better so that I realize my potential better now and for the rest of my life. 

I resolve to make genuine efforts every day.

I always remind myself that- "Rome was not built in a day"

For every moment & not just for this New Year, here's my goal-

Whatever I do, I will strive to do it with all my heart and soul.

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."- H.D. Thoreau

Celebrate Indian New Year

Things didn't go as per what was planned?

Not happy with the change or resolution?

The "Happy New Year" start is not that grand? 

Next- our Indian New Year celebration!

List of Lunar & Solar Indian New Year Days 

Where there’s sunrise ,

There’s sunset ,

Then, new sunrise ,

For sure, all can bet!

The new is what we seek!

New hope, new cheer,

New day, new week,

New month, new year

Clouds drift; the sands of time shift.

We may not walk the same way...

Each second is a precious gift!

Rejoice in the NOW today.

My wish for 2024: "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah".

May all stay blessed, healthy, happy & celebrate every day.

Sending prayers, optimism, love, peace, smiles ...your way!

Written for "The Year & You" Bloghop hosted by Swarnali Nath.

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What is your New Year's wish?

Do you share Indian New Year wishes too?