“… another
night like all the rest …” Thank you, Barry Manilow.
Yes, it’s
the end of an old year and the beginning of another. I see too many people
stressing about their plans for this evening (or “Amateur Night,” as most
people in the bar business like to call it).
As the end
of one period and the beginning of another, it is significant. But why? In
actuality, it is no significant than any other moment, because each moment is
the same ending and beginning; therefore, every
moment is significant.
What sets
New Year’s Eve apart from every other night is the fact that we have been
conditioned to believe that this one night is more important, more of a chance
of new beginnings, than any other night – and all because of a change in a
number.
The day you
got your new job, got married, quit smoking, and/or bought a house have more
importance than a simple night of having a glass of champagne at midnight –
which you can do any night.
I’m actually
quite surprised there wasn’t more of a hoopla made on December 20, 2012. I would’ve thought the eve of the world
ending would be considered a little big.
Look at all
of us; we stay up late to watch a ball drop at the precise moment the new day
begins. Isn’t every night that important? Because there are so many people in
this world going through so many bigger, individual events, the way we have set
this night up to be has turned more into a night of expectation – which, for
many people (outside of a good party), can turn out to seem more like a night
of empty promises. There are too many
people disappointed by not celebrating the moment with a special someone and a
kiss at midnight – more than any other night.
However,
Simply
because it has been forever, it is a
holiday. And any one of us can take it and make it something enjoyable,
positive and happy.
If you buy into the adage about “whatever you’re doing at midnight New
Year’s Eve will be what you will be doing the rest of the year,” – or something
like that – why not go out of your way to make sure you are smiling?
No, you don’t
need a reason, either; but maybe this will help you feel there is one:
Because New Year's Eve is an event, there is the same energy out and about this night as Christmas.
It’s palpable. There are a great many people going out to have a good time, and
their energy collects together and connects. Just go out and stand among them
and feel it – but do NOT hold
yourself as separate or apart, or make silly comparisons about what you feel
that they have that you don’t. Concentrate on the energy, really feel it. That will lift your spirits. Unless you
believe it won’t – because you will be right. I’m not being sarcastic here, I’m
just aware of the fact that truth is an individual thing; your beliefs are your
own truths. If you believe nothing will work, then nothing will.
Then again,
if you totally felt like that, you would probably not be reading this right
now.
A part of
the energy around NYE in the excitement for the new year is the simple
excitement for the new. This is part
of the reason adults are so willing to make a big deal out of this night,
because after so many years and trials and tribulations, there is very little new to experience – which isn’t true. It
is, however, a very popular collective belief.
Don’t be
lonely. Even if you are a single in a sea of couples, if you are there with
them you are not alone. Share the night with anyone and everyone around you. Be
aware of how much your own negative attitude will shut you off from so much
going on, including possibilities of any kind that a closed mind will blind
your eyes to.
Make this
night yours. Don’t set yourself up for expectations you really don’t believe
will be met. If you go out, go out knowing that you and the rest of us are all
celebrating the same event together. Be wherever you are. Right there and
nowhere else. Tell your inner cynic that since it’s a holiday, he or she
deserves the night off.
Our bodies
were made to dance all by themselves; no one else is needed. All you girls know
that there is always a group of us on the dance floor, and we all make room for
whoever wants to jump in.
Let go of
expectations. Feel the positive energy and the sense of new. Share the smiles.
Make it your night.
That’s
another thing our bodies were designed to do solo – to make things happen.
If you are
at home alone, spending the night all by yourself, remember that you are choosing
to do so. And if you are miserable, I can guarantee that your New Year’s Eve
will not meet even any of your smallest expectations.
Make the
night yours. Do something you enjoy. Watch the ball drop or don’t. Have a glass
of champagne or don’t. There are no rules to having fun, and there are no
regulations to New Year’s Eve (except the valid one about not drinking and
driving).
If you feel
negatively that New Year’s Eve is just another night, understand that you are
condemning every other night of yours as insignificant.
The bottom
line is that how you celebrate or whether or not you celebrate it is a choice.
You have more input to everything you feel than you think.
Remember,
that if you don’t take control of your own happiness, other people and
circumstances will. You are not supposed to be a victim; you are a creator.
Celebrate that.
Have a Happy
New Year.
Or not.
Again, your
choice.
(But if you feel like dancing, even alone in your kitchen, I have a great playlist for you! Stepping Out or Staying In: Music to ring in 2016)
