This piece will be carried on the first day of the New Year,2024 (God Willing); hence to begin this article, firstly , a very Happy New Year to all readers of this esteemed newspaper.
This piece will be carried on the first day of the New Year,2024 (God Willing); hence to begin this article, firstly , a very Happy New Year to all readers of this esteemed newspaper.
In third standard at the school, our English teacher had taught us , and made us memorise the following lines of Lord Alfred Tennyson, which we used to chant, not sing, due to the diversity of the vocal chord skills of the twenty five odd children, but nevertheless, for the entire month of December, in chorus of sorts, we would sing, nay, yell, “Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true”. We realised much later in life how strong and profound is the meaning of this composition. …the false of the past must go and the truth in the New Year must arrive. Beautiful thoughts.
Every setting of the sun, creates the onset of darkness, that knows, it’s life is short lived, for the sun shall rise, subject to divine approval, the next morning, and will usher Light, heralding brightness in life. A new day, a new opportunity to do and achieve, either the same or something different. Repeated achievement of the same sows seeds of disinterestedness and hence the human urge to seek and do something different. It is this spirit upon which hinges all human endeavours and progress.
The darkness of the last day of the year 2023 is behind us, the beauteous sun in its full splendour has outstripped the negritude of darkness , and this newspaper that you clutch now brings to you a whole New Year. Last year is consigned to the dungeons of history; the now and here of today and the many tomorrows, bring the happy tidings of hope, of being given yet another chance to ‘ do better’, than last year.
In accounting parlance, the book of 2023, is now closed, forever, no new or even adjusting entries can be made, because two horizontal lines in red are drawn upon 2023. The only possibility is to live with its memory and learn from it, not to repeat mistakes, if any made, in the year 2023. No time or day of the past can be relieved. Period.
It is said often that ‘the past is present’, meaning thereby that there are lurking moments of the past in the present, and the present will be past, and in the womb of the present is the future. I would like to recast the idiomatic phrase to, the past is the present moment of the future.
The past, the present and the future all happen simultaneously, almost in unison … it is the continuous movement of the continuum of time and life. It therefore follows that our future moment is housed in the present. All the choices and preferences we exercise today, will find a reflection in the future.
By traditions, borrowed largely from the west, the earliest record of New Year celebrations dates back to 2000 BCE, in Mesopotamia and the city of Babylon. The dates of New Year moved from 25th December to March 25th, from the winter solstice date of December to even September 21st; finally with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582 by the Church of Rome, January 1st was re designated as the first day of the year; and soon most of the then Europe adopted it officially. January first has been celebrated as the New Year globally; the related celebrations are influenced by respective cultures, geographic location (on hemisphere basis), traditions, customs, mores, etc.
In a type of balance sheet of life, hope, aspirations and expectations, one must list down, both the assets and liabilities, which in terms of our very own judgment must be prioritised for ‘action’. The liabilities side might include all the negative elements and tendencies, found in our behaviour and character; while the assets would have balances of positive nature representing, acquisition or improvements in skills, abilities and talents. The equity of effort must be reflected in the acquisition of value and of various asset classes.
Since a new accounting book is opened on the 1st of January, with no pride, or blemishes, most people resort towards making ‘New Year Resolutions’. These resolutions range from the sublime to the ridiculous; at one end of the spectrum of actions planned could be as flimsy as, ‘will lose weight by 20kgs’ or ‘will eat less junk food’ to the profound like, ‘I will alter my lifestyle from flamboyance to extreme modesty and frugality’ or ‘I shall read x number of books’. The most common resolutions made and flouted by 2nd January relate to ‘giving up smoking’ or ‘to stop indulging in partaking in the prohibited drink’. These two have the highest propensity of violation, and in the shortest time.
“Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect and thank God that it can go”(Brooks Atkinson, in December 31st—One around the Sun). The start of the year gives an opportunity to review ambitions and also gives allowance to recheck if the application and effort towards fulfilling those was adequate or not. The desires can be for achieving certain personality characteristics or for advancing professional growth through improvements in the subject matter. Personal goals can be many, like, ‘Iwill, save more to get married, and from being covetous and greedy to being more generous, loving and considerate’. Omar Khayyam says, “Now the New Year reviving old Desires, The Thoughtful Soul to solitude retires”.
In order to have a healthy personal balance sheet, it is imperative to expunge the negative traits and rise above oneself to create positive traits instead. The reduction in the negative tendencies must show a corresponding growth in the positive tendencies. The ability to jettison the frustrated cargo of envy, jealousy and unhealthy competition is absolutely required to grow positive traits of being more knowledgeable, possessed of humility, modesty, patience, tolerance, improvements in listening skills, etc, all these elements go towards benefiting the individual, the organisation and the country.
To transition from the negative tendencies towards acquisition of healthy habits, the need is to learn, through either diplomas or certifications, in various aspects of one’s own job description. The combination of excellent technical skills and proficiency must be matched, formally and informally to improvements in the persona, will ultimately lead towards a better, brighter and a more formidable 2024. The results have to be necessarily better than the previous year.
Time is continuous, hence there is no beginning nor an end, except the ultimate doomsday… however in it’s movements from year to year, it brings to humanity, a wisdom and understanding, that goes to swell the ponds of knowledge; the collective human behaviour of the past, has to find redemption of either joy or sorrow. As you plant, so do,you reap is an established proverb. The genocidal situation in Gaza is an aberration of the human psyche.
So, what would be reaped in 2024?; The deeds or the mire of misdeeds, our hands have sent forthwith. If the seed of investment of the year 2023 was faulty then we cannot expect to have a good harvest in 2024. Since 2023 cannot be undone, the best thing to do is to look, with hope and confidence, into the future by corrective action in the present.
Before embarking on making a list of “New Year Resolutions”, it is best to assess the need and significance of what could be ruling in the mind for the longest time. To undertake the exercise of gazing into the new year, it is important to prepare and reduce in writing a list of things to do and achieve, with defined timelines for accomplishing those goals; further short review dates for measuring progress must also be pre-decided.
A typical list of new year resolutions would include a combination of personal and professional goals. Personal goals could include some health-related objectives; or acquisition of good habits like targeting to read X number of books for acquiring knowledge; or to develop interpersonal relationships by adopting modesty and humility in the demeanour. Professional goals could include movement to new assignments or even a new job; to develop knowledge and skills for greater proficiency, efficiency and efficacy in efforts. Simultaneously list down the negatives, known and unknown to one’s own self and then set a target date to rid oneself of it; to stop gossiping; to manage and limit time spent on social media platforms, etc. can be the target.
A need to keep and have it handy is a chart of what new initiatives are being undertaken in the global marketplace. The inability to catch pace with recent developments can render an individual or an organisation prone to being waylaid. A world renowned Finnish cellphone producer got bought out by another Scandinavian telecom operator … the chairman of the Finnish company broke down while announcing it to the employees, sobbingly he asked what we did wrong? Actually they did nothing wrong, except not embracing the fast-paced technological developments. The consequence was the company was sold out.
In the chart of objectives for 2024, my young readers must include the target to understand the practicality of the use of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI), and the latest available software updates. Keep pace and embrace technology.
At the end of this exercise of intellectual pursuit, revolving around both professional and personal objectives, one must draw a pre-closing balance sheet at the start of the year. This balance sheet should not have any carry-forwards from the past year.
Today is the day to ask oneself, how different and better I/we are now in comparison to what I/we were on 1 January 2023. If there is no change then disaster has occurred. Obviously much water has flowed underneath the bridge. It cannot be called for recycling; because it is in the inherent nature of water to keep flowing and not to stop and stagnate; similar is the inherent nature of “time”, it keeps ticking; what could be had can then cannot be had.
Dear readers, all ought to make and prepare for ourselves a perfectly balanced moral and material balance sheet of our lives.
The writer is a senior banker & a freelance columnist
