There are two moments in a year when we celebrate the end of a cycle: the individual one is our birthdays, and the collective one is New Year’s Eve. Oversimplifying things a little, I find that there’s an interesting contrast in the focus of these two occasions: whilst birthdays are mostly about what we lived the past 365 days —the joy that we shared, the good moments and perhaps the lessons, too— New Year’s Eve is all about what we’re going to write in a new chapter of our lives.
A new year is a blank slate. We don’t think that much about how old we’re becoming, but rather pretend that we’ve been born anew, full of potential and energy to reach our goals. Again, this is a bit reductionist. Of course, we think about the past in New Year’s Eve and about what’s next in our birthdays. But if you think about it, there’s no such a thing as a list of birthday resolutions, and while looking back at pictures is rather normal during birthdays, people in some parts of the world actually burn representations of the year that’s ending, wishing to eradicate them in order to make room for what’s to come.
Something New Year’s Eve has, that might favour the way we approach it, is that’s preceded, at least in the West, by one or two weeks of rest due to Christmas. The importance of rest cannot be overstated. Our minds and bodies need moments of quiet, time to settle and process things. We also need changes of pace to recover our ability to focus and our energy. The holidays lend themselves nicely to do just that. One way or another, we have time off. We see people who aren’t that present in our lives the rest of the year. There are seasonal activities that break our routines. We tend to become more aware of what we receive, because there are Christmas gifts and gatherings, and so on.
I think it’s crucial to have these two moments. Cherishing the past, which I’d call gratitude, gives us the perspective to understand where we are, what we’ve experienced, achieved, overcome, learned and even suffered. Stepping back from our present to look ahead as if everything was possible, which is ambition in the best sense of the word, frees us from self-imposed burdens and doubts. It infuses us with energy and creativity.
Giving ourselves a moment for each of these perspectives or approaches every day by, for example, journaling, can bear great benefits. Perhaps ironically, being mindful of the past and future helps us live in the present. In this 2025, I want to focus on those moments of reset at the end of cycles, when I rest and am grateful for what I received, to live in constant rejuvenation.
What about you? Have you thought about some of the things that I’ve mentioned here, or do you think differently? I’d love to read your opinion!
Hymns, and gospel music in general, are in line with reflections like the one I share today. Let me finish then with this version of ‘How Great Thou Art’, that I recorded for the online concert Sax Interpretations – Ladies Edition, organised by Courtney Fadlin in 2020. Hope you enjoy!
