The New Year is a time of beginnings and fresh starts. Perhaps it is a bit of a cliché, but even if you don’t have New Years resolutions you probably still see it as a clean slate and the opportunity to “carpe diem!!” for real this time. I can’t lie; I am this way, too. Since November I have been deep in the mire of Holiday Sugar, and I am viewing January as a time to cut down on my junk food consumption. I guess I could cut down on my wine consumption, too…
However, this year is a bit different for me. Not only is it the start to twelve brand new months (which I will write incorrectly for the first quarter of the year), it also falls shortly after an event that led to some very introspective moments for me.
The week before Christmas, my mom called to tell me that my Grandpa wasn’t doing well. So, I packed my suitcase, downloaded an audio book, and drove my trusty Mazda up to Eugene, Oregon to visit my grandparents. This alone was an adventure because…Mt. Shasta and the Siskiyous in December?
Along with figuring out how to handle my vehicle in snow, I was taught so many lessons in the time that I was there; not because my Grandparents sat me down and lectured me about what they thought I needed to know, but because they lead by example.
Spending time with them showed me the importance of fully embracing each phase of life that I am in. I will never be twenty-six again, and rather than wasting time looking back and missing “the good old days” or wondering what is next, I need to seize each opportunity that I have and make the most of them.
My Grandparents truly live their lives, and do not put off doing things until tomorrow (unless it’s the dinner dishes). Each day they do the things they love, because they have a deep understanding that the time they are given each day is a gift and one that cannot be squandered or wasted. As a twenty-six year old, I keep thinking that I will do things in the future. Tomorrow. When I am older. I think that I have an infinite amount of time to eventually get around to doing all the things I dream of. At eighty-seven, my Grandfather marvels at how fast the time has gone by and recalls with joy all the things he has accomplished in his life. This is just one of the many ways I want to be like him; to look back at my life with pride and contentment, not waiting until the next year to start working towards my goals, but using the one I have right in front of me.
This is what inspires me at the start of 2016.