12 Unfilled Pages

Here we are once more. Another year has slid away into the murky reminders of yesterday. Before us is the dawn of a new year, filled with possibilities, a multitude of unknowns awaiting around the corner.

I find I'm rather two sided about the start of another new year. On the one hand I confess to a certain thrill when unwrapping that new calender and skimming through the pages. They're all unfilled; blank and ripe with possibility. Each little box has the potential to be so many things. They're just waiting for their time to come, to unfold in the tidy sequential order in the great cycle of Time.  There is an excitement in that. A daily present to unwrap and discover.

On the other hand, there is the uncertainty. A whole 12 months yawn before you. 365 days of Who Knows What lurking on each page. In some strange way it makes me think of a haunted house with glaring things half hidden around each corner, every turn a twist in a plan you didn't know you were following. Scary stuff.

I think I'll choose the former and leave the latter confined to the starkness of this page. Out of sight out of mind, as it were.

What do you hope for in this New Year? What will you make out of 2012?

The way I see it, we all start with the same tools: that blank calendar with 12, as of yet, unfilled months. Each of us has a choice to fill those boxes with love and hope, with peace and kindness. Or we can spend our time fearing each box, worried what each one will bring. From one moment to another, fearing, fretting, worrying.

Let's face it, those darned boxes will fill up quickly. Pens will fly and plans will be set in ink. Pages will turn as weeks and months go by. It happens with our without our knowledge. In a blink of an eye.

What am I going to do with this opportunity? With this New Year?

I think I'll fill those boxes with happiness. I choose to let go of so much of the worry that seems forever tied to me, my unwanted passenger. My eyes will focus on the path I am on, not on the journeys I am not taking. One step at a time. Forward. Onward. Face, forever looking up.

Looking up. Taking it all in.

Life is a journey. This year will be a journey. Take it all in. Enjoy the scenery. Fill those boxes with things that matter and leave the other stuff to the years gone by. Behind. In the past.

Hey, 2012. Nice to meet you. Let's go.