The December that I remember from my childhood had a lot of magic, it brought the joy of celebrations, the friendly cold of the expected endings, that expectation of vacations, with dinners, foam drinks, dances and sweets always included.
It was marked by the strong desire for January to arrive, to congratulate and be congratulated on family birthdays, Three Kings Day, and the special thing about beginnings.
Also, the desire to meet friends at school, the stories from parties and moments at home, because when we are little, we don’t waste much time doing math or thinking about what is really beyond our control. The future is the next 24 hours and that’s it, without great expectations.
However, childhood is finite, and now I know that these last 31 days are not just the prelude to my favorite stage. It is a month that invites you to do the math, an act similar to crossing out points on a list that is almost never written on paper or by hand.
We think about what has been done, the dreams fulfilled, the goals achieved, what was positive and also the negative, in search of a balance that is the basis on which to draw what should be the next year.
It is in these projections where the illusion nests. The thought is common that the future, although uncertain, must always be better, the space in which we can do what we want.
The dreams shared from individualities are what unite us on the path of building a reality that is more ours, more prosperous, for example: progressing at work, being considerate, careful, dedicating more time to the family, studying.
They are those apparent “simplicities” that do not top the list of great wishes such as losing weight; travel the world; being reciprocated in love, famous, millionaires, but there are also those that lead us to spiritual development, to the personal satisfaction of knowing that we are doing the right thing.
Not everything requires ostentatious expenses or large amounts of money, joy can be found in everyday life, in knowing that we are useful for the simple fact of doing well what we have to do, and that is an important pillar on which to build happiness.
The concept of happiness has as many meanings as people have been willing to define it, and regardless of this, there is a consensus that achieving nirvana is not a solo route.
Perhaps that is the main reason to take advantage of this reflective time and make our New Year’s resolutions to be less selfish; Learn to think about us, with respect and dedication, sometimes it is enough to do no wrong to make a difference.
Hope requires construction and care. This reality turns it into a shield to face each new challenge, so it should not be named in vain, much less invoked like a prayer, with the illusion that this is enough to solve the problem.
Hopefully, which comes from an ancient invocation, from the Arabic language and means “God willing”, we also want to transform faith into action, stop waiting for human improvement and begin to be better, stop expecting change and become the actors of change.
It is true that a stick does not make a mountain, but each stick forms the mountain. So let’s try to put in the maximum effort, so we accomplish what we want, and in the universal balance of giving to receive, we build a beautiful place in which to be.
