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Personal Perspectives
January Is a Time to Reflect and Dream of a New Future
A Personal Perspective: Can we make our wishes come true in 2024?
Updated December 6, 2023 Reviewed by Lybi Ma
January is named for the Roman god Janus, protector of gates and doorways, not walls that separate us or keep us out, but gates that are an opportunity for us to both come and go, along with doorways that beckon us to take a chance and enter.
Janus, as protector of gates and doorways, is depicted as having two faces: one looking into the past, the other into the future.
In honor of Janus, I declare 2024 to be the year of two notebooks.
Instead of making resolutions, we should take the time to look back and remember, then look to the future. Two separate acts; hence, the two notebooks.
A word about keeping two notebooks.
The notebooks should fit in a purse, a pocket, or a briefcase, where they will be available when we think of something we want to do or remember.
The two notebooks are not a command to begin journaling or writing daily morning pages.
The two notebooks create a pathway to our past and our future.
Looking back
The first notebook is about remembering.
Given how stressful life is right now, I suggest shying away from negative memories, unless you have some kind of “aha” moment of insight regarding that bad memory.
I think we can all agree that dwelling on the past digs up mistakes and regrets that turn remembering into a roadblock to getting on with life and growing.
Reflection and resolution could put a smile on Janus’ looking-back face.
The kind of remembering we want to record in our looking back notebook should acknowledge what we have been through and accomplished, those who have loved us and we have loved, along with the moments and relationships we’ve had that were positive and life-affirming.
The looking back notebook is also a great place to record that one moment you had with someone special you never want to forget.
The memories in this kind of writing or notebook are short. This notebook is not meant for writing detailed life histories. These entries in our notebook are personal snapshots.
The more memories you record, the better you will become at accessing those past golden moments.
There may be some regrets, but those regrets can become resolutions as you move forward in the new year.
Facing forward
That second notebook is key to shifting forward into a new year.
This notebook is a place to dream, make plans, and be bold. This notebook should hone in on what you want, as well as what you want to do next.
Maybe we should share our wishes with Santa
There is something quite magical when little children tell Santa their wishes.
One of our grandsons, who is 2 years old and can be quite shy, willingly walked over to Santa the other night, sat tight next to him, and whispered in his ear that what he wanted for Christmas was a firetruck to visit his home.
Santa mistook his request for a toy firetruck and said he was sure his wish would come true, that there would be a firetruck under the tree for him come Christmas. Our grandson gently corrected him and kept his original request: He wanted a firetruck, driven by a fireman, to come to his home, not a plastic firetruck tucked under the tree.
His was a big wish. Perhaps even a bold wish. But it was his wish, and he was willing to believe that once Santa understood what he wanted, he would protect and deliver that wish.
(We have purchased and wrapped a toy firetruck and have it ready for Christmas morning. Still working on getting a firetruck to cruise by the house.)
Children rarely care that the person they are talking with is the one and only real Santa. However, they hold fast to the idea that telling “Santa” their dreams and wishes will help make those dreams and wishes come true: Christmas miracles and all that.
The world would like us to accept that we can only grow up when we stop believing in Santa Claus. This loosely translates into the idea that we only achieve adulthood when we stop believing in our dreams and wishes.
The second notebook becomes our wish list. We have to be bold enough to dream big.
We need to be more like Janus.
Look back on the good in life. Turn regrets into resolutions.
Then look forward. We need to get over our shyness about our dreams and wishes. We have to be bold. We can believe in ourselves and the things we wish for, whatever those wishes might be.
