I have the song “And so this is Christmas” by John Lennon in my head, which is particularly irksome since it’s a Christmas song I particularly despise. But, the line “… and so this is Christmas, what have we done? Another year over, and a new one just begun …” does seem particularly apt.
Already 2011 has whizzed past. Perhaps it has crawled for you, as some years are wont. I confess I’ve been putting off writing this entry because I try to be upbeat and positive about the new year, and firmly believe that even when we feel like we’ve accomplished nothing (usually because we feel we’ve failed at achieving our largest and potentially loftiest goals), what we HAVE accomplished is still worthy of recognition.
So, what have I done this year?
– added a first child to our family
– survived the first year with said infant and I still alive and healthy
– completed first draft of a new novel
– queried quite a lot, with mixed results
– kept up my blogs (mostly)
Okay, so that’s my main summary. And the part that gets me down all the time is the stuff I haven’t accomplished. The logical part of me knows how mad that is – after all, if all we ever focused on was what we haven’t accomplished in our lives, wouldn’t we be frozen in regret? I think it comes down to the same idea of gratefulness, which we often tend to forget a lot of the year save for Thanksgiving. We must appreciate and value what we have accomplished, what we have achieved, what we do have, instead of always bemoaning the absence of other things. Thus, as I prepare for Christmas and a new year, I remind myself that I’m probably pretty fortunate to have been able to write that one terrible first draft, since after all, I’m also learning to balance being the primary caregiver for my child with my own goals and ambitions. A part of myself feels like I’m just making excuses, but perhaps I’m just too hard on myself sometimes.
What about you? Are you celebrating a year well-done, or are you worried about what you haven’t yet accomplished? If we’re constantly chasing after what we can’t have – because one knows that just because I achieve one goal means I’ll set a new one that I may or may not achieve the following year – can we ever truly be happy? Indeed, set your goals, fight for them, fight for your dreams, but remember to live in gratitude for what you have achieved and give it equal worth.
Anyway, short and sweet this week, I suppose, as I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Be gentle on yourselves and your loved ones, and I’ll be back to the blog in 2012 – thanks for reading.