AS THE NEW YEAR DAWNS

The dawn of a new year begins today and it seems strange that it is during the darkest time of the year, in our part of the world. Nights are long, days are short, cold and often dreary. SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is happening all around me; I can see it in the faces of many people, hear it in their voices, and even wonder if it is affecting me sometimes. It is a constant battle for many and much worse for some than others.

But there is always the Light. We have to keep our eyes and our hearts on the true light of Christ so that during these dark days, we still know where we are going, and how we are going to get there.

At this time of the year, we all look forward to spring, setting goals for farm, gardens, health and so on. It’s easy at the beginning of a new year to become over-ambitious and set too many goals we’d like to achieve, only to find out that by December 31st, or even March 1st, we’ve forgotten most of them.

Who was it that said, “Setting a goal without a plan is just a dream.”?

I’ve decided to keep mine simple this year, since that seems to work best for me. Mantras keep me focused. A man-tra is a word or phrase repeated over and over to aid concentration until the brain is finally absorbed with it. Some people get it right away. For me it usually takes awhile! Along with other things I plan to improve on, I will be repeating “Grateful and Happy” because this has helped me in the past, but it’s time to rev it up again. In order to help myself, I’ve added a couple of other words I have recently learned.

Hygge: (pronounced hoo-ga) Becoming happier by using the philosophy of comfort, togetherness and well-being. I should do well with this because I like comfort, candlelight for coziness, taking needed breaks during the day, turning off phones, sipping tea, surrounding myself with family, farm and gardens, and meditating.

Lykke: (prounanced loo-ka) pursuing and finding the good that exists in the world around us every day. (Not an easy feat in today’s world, but I know from experience, definitely do-able.)

“You know what makes your heart refreshed, the things that make you come alive. We need to drink in beauty wherever we can get it—in music, in nature, in art, in a great meal shared. These are all gifts to us from God’s generous heart.

Friends, those things are not decorations to a life, they bring life.” ~ John Eldredge

And in keeping with my lifetime goal of keeping it simple, I found a new word to repeat also:

Lagom: The Swedish art of balance: Not too little, not too much.

I will end with this cute story of how not to get caught up in the ideal of over-achieving.

A vacationing American businessman standing on the pier of a fishing village in Mexico watched as a small boat with just one young fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large fish.

Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish."How long did it take you to catch them?" the American casually asked."Oh, a few hours," the fisherman replied."Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American businessman then asked.The fisherman warmly replied, "With this I have more than enough to meet my family's needs."

The businessman then became serious, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"Responding with a smile, the fisherman answered, "I sleep late, play with my children, watch ball games, and take a siesta in the afternoon . Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll with my wife into the village and we take time to visit with our friends."

The American businessman impatiently interrupted, "Look, I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the additional income that larger boat will bring, before long you can buy a second boat, then a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats."

Proud of his own sharp thinking, he excitedly elaborated a grand scheme which could bring even bigger profits, "Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman you'll be able to sell your fish directly to the processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny coastal village and move to Mexico City, or possibly even Los Angeles or New York City, where you could even further expand your enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?"The Harvard MBA pronounced, "Probably about 15-20 years, maybe less if you work really hard.""And then what?" asked the fisherman."

Why, that's the best part!" answered the businessman with a laugh. "When the time is right, you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.""

Millions? Really? What would I do with it all?" asked the young fisherman in disbelief.

The businessman boasted, "Then you could happily retire with all the money you've made. You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your grandchildren, watch ball games, and take a siesta in the afternoon then in the evenings you can stroll into the village and take time to visit with your friends all you want."

(Did you notice that the business man said he could spend time with his *grandchildren?*)

MAY YOU ALL BE MOST RICHLY BLESSED THIS NEW YEAR!

~ Gwen of IRISH ACRES