Thank You
Another morning, another new year. The newspapers, the internet, everywhere I see. People partying, getting drunk, having dinner, vowing to change themselves from the next year. Those old recycled columns in the newspapers that help you choose and keep your New Year resolutions. Stupid numerologists finding sense in the letters of the new year (e.g. - For the year 2013, it was 2+0+1=3)
Then there are the cynics, who say there is nothing new in the year as all we do is celebrate a periodic cosmic activity and its nothing to go gaga over. Or the saviors of “Indian Culture” who call it an occidental vice and that we should not lose our morality (which is conveniently applicable only for women)
And then there are the funny ones- “सिर्फ happy बोल देने से new year happy नहीं हो जाता” (Just calling the New Year ‘Happy’ doesn’t make it so).But there is something common with all of them. The fact they have now become ordinary. Every year the same old story, with nothing new in it. To take the joke further, there is nothing ‘new’ in the ‘New Year’ now.
So, how do we reinvent it? All the young & old who are reading this, know that the adage of ‘introspection’ and a ‘new self’ is all bullshit. We tend to feel inspired for a day of two and return to our old state once we run out of fuel. We simply lack the momentum (or Escape Velocity :P ) to break our old shackles.
I am no Arvind Kejriwal. I will not go down the same path that I have criticized. I have nothing new to offer, only a statement of what it is. And that’s what I keep on the table. But why then did I take pains to compose such a long post. Its because the New Year means something to me.
For me, it’s a symbol of hope. It’s a sign from the Gods which says, there is still time; for the humanity to change, for the evil to mend their ways, for the honest to keep the flame of goodness burning and for the struggling, a divine grace. When you look at the conditions under which our earth was formed and the fate of the species that preceded us, it’s a matter of utter amazement that we are still surviving as a species.
I cannot speak for the future, but the past tells us that we have a lot to be grateful for.
With this hope still alive inside me, I thank the heavens for the chance that they have given us and welcome 2014.
Happy New Year :)
Then there are the cynics, who say there is nothing new in the year as all we do is celebrate a periodic cosmic activity and its nothing to go gaga over. Or the saviors of “Indian Culture” who call it an occidental vice and that we should not lose our morality (which is conveniently applicable only for women)
And then there are the funny ones- “सिर्फ happy बोल देने से new year happy नहीं हो जाता” (Just calling the New Year ‘Happy’ doesn’t make it so).But there is something common with all of them. The fact they have now become ordinary. Every year the same old story, with nothing new in it. To take the joke further, there is nothing ‘new’ in the ‘New Year’ now.
So, how do we reinvent it? All the young & old who are reading this, know that the adage of ‘introspection’ and a ‘new self’ is all bullshit. We tend to feel inspired for a day of two and return to our old state once we run out of fuel. We simply lack the momentum (or Escape Velocity :P ) to break our old shackles.
I am no Arvind Kejriwal. I will not go down the same path that I have criticized. I have nothing new to offer, only a statement of what it is. And that’s what I keep on the table. But why then did I take pains to compose such a long post. Its because the New Year means something to me.
For me, it’s a symbol of hope. It’s a sign from the Gods which says, there is still time; for the humanity to change, for the evil to mend their ways, for the honest to keep the flame of goodness burning and for the struggling, a divine grace. When you look at the conditions under which our earth was formed and the fate of the species that preceded us, it’s a matter of utter amazement that we are still surviving as a species.
I cannot speak for the future, but the past tells us that we have a lot to be grateful for.
With this hope still alive inside me, I thank the heavens for the chance that they have given us and welcome 2014.
Happy New Year :)
Comments
Post a Comment