On the last day of 2018, I found myself reading Proust, which left me feeling profoundly peaceful and fulfilled.
I must confess I haven’t always looked forward to a New Year in such a positive state of mind. Endings can be very hard for me – or for a lot of other people for that matter…
So what are you leaving behind in 2018?
The pain, the grief, the hurt, the loss? The tears? The difficulty?
2017 was one very difficult year for me, and yet, I thank God every day for 2018… Which makes me want to say on this special day: I am not leaving anything I take it all. Can’t have one without the other. Because the few times I was hurt are the ones where I grew the most, learned the most. They are the ones I’ve lived the most, and shown my will to survive the most – my freedom to evolve the most.
A quick look at your body will confirm: pain is revelatory, it is an indication that something is wrong. If something is wrong, then you can probably fix it – in any case, it’s worth knowing about and working your way through it.
So, in a nutshell, aside from disease, genocides, wars, injustices and abuse (one has got to allow himself to dream a little) I ain’t gonna wish much away. But I am going to take things with me!
I am taking my will to live, my freedom, the freedom to fight and hope for a better tomorrow. And I hope for you to take it with you too. And for those who have lost hope, or who have learned helplessness I wish you to keep in mind that “the knowledge that there is no hope left does not prevent us from continuing to wait” (Marcel Proust, 1919).
Do not take away the pain, take it all, and make the best of it. And take life with you, along the way.
Happy New Year.
“Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the power of the mind” (Marcel Proust, 1927)
