Looking forward to the New Year

I just read that the tradition of the New Year’s Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Therefore he could look backward and forward at the same time- in other words, he could look back on past events and forward to the future.  At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new, and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

This tradition doesn’t differ that much all these many years later. While we may not think of or even know of Janus, we do take time out to reflect on our lives and proclaim vows of change based on our actions of the past. Well, I’m not so sure about looking at what I can (or what I should) change about myself; instead to reflect on my journey and where I’ve been so that I can remember all that I’ve endured, shared, and experienced to be where I am now. To understand what all has transpired to make me what I am, and to appreciate this. All of us have had both good and bad things happened to us, and we all have things we wished we had done differently. But what I’m focusing more on is of being at peace with my past, centered in my life now. Embracing and accepting all that is Me. I’ve spent too many years wishing I was something ‘better’ than I was; I’m now focusing more on genuinely being and loving me.

As we turn the page on to a new year, I sincerely wish you all the best, much love, and good health.

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