Thoughts for everything New

As the sound of fireworks begins to fade and the cheering begin to silence, you find yourself unconsciously crossing your fingers and hoping that the lights will never dim, the laughter will never stop, and that smile that has illuminated your face will not diminish.

In the New Year, we all wish for one thing: that we have 365 days of health, happiness, love and prosperity ahead of us. That they are filled with new opportunities, new chances, new prospects and new experiences.

We have a blank slate to do things we’ve never done before. But we want to be with our loved ones, with people who constantly have us on their mind and in their hearts. We want to maintain the happiness and euphoria of the season and wish for its duration to persist through time and challenges.

In these first days, we hope that we can pass through the New Year with as few difficulties as possible, determined to make the most out of the time and moments that lie ahead.

May this be the year when our expectations are met, when our dreams are fulfilled, when our ideas become reality, and when we resolve that all we want is exactly the life we have. 

Happy New Year!

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Shine and sparkle

The Christmas-New Year festive season gives us the opportunity to rethink a lot of things in our lives. Least of all, who our real friends are, who are the ones who actually care and with whom we want to spend these special days with.

But the season also grants you the chance to view life in a different perspective. To set goals and ambitions, to consider how many of your wishes have already been fulfilled and to become more determined about realising the others. It makes you stop for a minute and think what we really need to be happy and satisfied with ourselves and the life we lead.

In the current times, what is perhaps most important is the time you spend offline. Those moments you don’t post online for all to see and envy. The hours you spend away from your screens and without the temptation of needing to look at your phone every now and then.

You feel special not because of the digital life you pretend to have, but because of the people who actually surround you in reality. Who truly show they care and who go out of their way to surprise you simply to see you smile as brightly as the lights over your head.

It’s the moments that make you shine and sparkle that make your life complete.

And we should always make it a New Year’s Resolution to have more of them.

Blank pages

Writers know it best that it is always difficult to face a brand new blank page. It is imbued with so much potential that it is sometimes frightening. Because you fear you may not live up to the expectation that lies within that blank page. You fear what you will write will not be good enough. But you will never know unless you try. Unless you write that first word and let everything else just flow onto the page.

Just like that, in life too, we need to be bold enough to take risks, to make new decisions, to change things. We will never be able to reach our true potential if we are too afraid to change even the slightest in our routines, to make new opportunities a reality. It is only when we exit our comfort zones that great things will come. And we will realise what we are truly capable of.

Just hours away from a new year, perhaps this is the time for reflection – of how the 365 days that passed were filled with moments of happiness, laughter, love, excitement, new experiences, but also of remorse, sadness, of wanting to painfully creep under something and disappear. This is the time to fill ourselves with determination and hope to make the New Year the best one yet. To make it the one that will improve our lives and of those around us. To eliminate as much as possible those bad moments that overshadow all the good and be decisive enough to make those moments to come ones branded only by smiles, laughter and happiness.

Make this start one worthy of who you are and the goodness that lies within you.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

Also part of Daily Prompt: Almost

New Year thoughts

Whenever a year ends, you really only wish for one thing: that the new one will be (even) better. That it will find you smiling broadly, laughing wholeheartedly, loving deeply, and enjoying every second.

But before the clock strikes midnight and the current year becomes history, you do look back and reminisce on all that you’ve been through these past 365 days, what you’ve learnt, what you’ve achieved, the experiences you’ve gained, how much fun you had, how much you hurt, but most of all, how you survived. Every year that passes leaves a mark on your person, no matter how much or quickly it may fade. It means you’ve grown, you’ve learnt how to become better, stronger and more confident. It means you have become a bit wiser than before, and can exploit that newfound knowledge to reach even greater heights.

The New Year finds us all aspiring for more, wishing each other the very best – happiness, health, and love – and hoping that this will be the year when we (finally) realise our dreams. It’s good to start the year with such optimism. The difficult part is to maintain it all the year through, and start each of its 366 days (yes, 2016 is a leap year!) with a glowing smile.

There are so many wonderful and inspiring quotes to share on the eve of the New Year. For example, Neil Gaiman expresses the hope “that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something. So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”

Here’s another bright wish by D.Simone:

“May Light always surround you;
Hope kindle and rebound you.
May your Hurts turn to Healing;
Your Heart embrace Feeling.
May Wounds become Wisdom;
Every Kindness a Prism.
May Laughter infect you;
Your Passion resurrect you.
May Goodness inspire
your Deepest Desires.
Through all that you Reach For,
May your arms Never Tire.”

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” (George Eliot).

So go out there and make this the best year yet, until the next one. Be daring and bold; young at heart; but mature in mind; and never forget that life was given to us to make the most out of it!

Happy New Year!

 

Also part of Daily Prompt: Earworm

Sparkles and bangs

It is truly surprising how much you can learn of a place from its people’s everyday habits, like their food and drink. In Bavaria in particular, everyone knows that beer is drunk like water. It is like that quote from Cocktail where barman Doug told the inexperienced Brian that “Beer is for breakfast around here, drink or be gone.” That is exactly how a first-timer feels in Bavaria. In fact, in Munich, the beer capital of the world and home of the Oktoberfest, beer often costs less than water. And the smallest beer you can get (at least without being laughed at) is a half-litre glass. Beer here is drunk from the late mornings to the early hours of the next day. It truly is gulped down more easily than water, a liquid which is hard to find in a large bottle and costs up to even twice as much! For some strange and yet to be found reason.

But as the New Year approaches, champagne is in order. The bubbly alcohol is the best way to start the New Year with a bang. And the popping of the cork is an excellent accompaniment to the sparkles and bursts of the fireworks that will fill the night sky.
So raise your glass (whatever it may be filled with) and make a wish that this New Year will be 2014 and more times better than the last!

Happy New Year!

Glückliches Neues Jahr!

Felice Anno Nuovo!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Bonne Année!

Καλή Χρονιά!

New Year, New hopes, New dreams

So…are you ready for the fireworks? To start the New Year with a bang? You should be…because you’re ending this year with a bang too! Have you cleaned the house and settled all outstanding issues so as not to carry anything into the New Year that is not in order or “clean”? And have you chosen that ravishing dress, or stunning shirt to wear tonight? Don’t forget to keep those black-eyed peas in your purse/wallet too, for they are said to bring extra money for the New Year!

Ever wondered about all these New Year traditions and myths? Well, it’s all part of starting the year with renewed hope and aspirations for the future. It’s like wiping the slate clean. And everyone wants a fresh start every now and then. It’s about looking forward to something good, something positive, and yearning for that something to come with the strike of midnight on 31 December. That’s why people like to dress up and party on New Year’s Eve. It’s the time to let the year that passed be gone, and welcome a new one, that will bring with it new hopes, new dreams and new experiences. It’s letting go of Father Time and nurturing a new Baby Year to life.

As for those longed-for fireworks at midnight – well, some say it’s because the loud noises scare away all the evil spirits, so that nothing bad will endanger the cheer and prosperity wished for on 1 January. And as the year turns, don’t forget to welcome it with a hug, a kiss, a smile, a positive cheer and renewed hope for a better 365 days to come. And whilst singing “Auld Lang Syne” just let go of all the painful, negative memories of the year that’s passing, and rejoice that there will be more time to realize your dreams, set your goals (just stick to at least one resolution this year!), and experience life at its fullest!

Happy New Year!

Καλή Χρονιά!

Frohes neues Jahr!

Buon Anno!

Bonne Année!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

…and in all other languages!!!