New year palaver
Stringed with so many unsuccessful resolutions and strained with so very demanding wishes, stretched with several uncertain anticipations and chequered with diverse experiences, hard-used and expired, an old year passes out of our lives. Determined to bid it a “stamp-out” goodbye with all it’s staleness, and forcefully catapult themselves to a new world full of freshness, men’s psyches can get quite adventurous in trying to testify of something it can’t tangibly feel.
Everybody, by passionate greetings of “happy new year!” reaching to all friends, any stranger, and some lucky enemies, seemed to want to invoke an otherwise unmarked newness and happiness into the lives they live. By festivity and merry-making, many revealed a wistful quest for a magical revolution in their worlds, desperately impressing a closed chapter and ambitiously celebrating a new breaking. Some, by getting drunk and daring seemed to wish for death, and then, life all over again, they probably imagined to drown their old lives with all it’s frustrations in a pool of alcoholic unconsciousness and to resurface on some premeditated fantasy island. Others, by becoming very religious and conditionally repentant, appeared to want to romance God into granting them better luck than they had in the previous year.
For once, general expectations may be unanimous and optimism is almost fully consolidated, but soon, after the psychology of the season had begun to fade with it’s compliments; after the noise of jubilant fire crackers and glare of brilliant fireworks no longer torched the atmosphere; after incessantly busy home or mobile telephones with their speakers blaring ebulliently of good wishes had found relief and visitors had begun to take some rest; when the lucrative assailment experienced by holiday shops had subsided and work resumed in earnest, cold reality began to crawl upon the people’s consciousness.
Alas, it’s a continuation of the old life, isn’t it? Probably new resolutions and ambitions, but, with the regular challenges and threats. It’s the same old pattern of life with ups and downs. Yet, a new year is born, minds unconsciously question, shouldn’t there be an obvious significance? The dates have changed, but how do we put a tangible experience to its newness?
©2001, Tee Akindele
Happy New Year! My esteemed friends, I hope with you all that beautiful dreams, this year, will come to pass. 