The Newness of Today

This morning I awoke to a pleasant song, "Auld Lang Syne". Yes, I am aware that New Years has come and gone and that we are truly into 2011 now, but the song made me smile. It is the version that was featured in the Sex and the City Movie, by Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis. While I love this version, the words, the symbolism of the song are what made me start to think, which is not an easy task in the morning. It seemed rather appropriate that a song so closely tied to the beginning of a new year and the possibilities it brings was the one that started my day, a new day, again, so full of possibility.

It is easy to wake up each morning and fret about what lies ahead, all the appointments and meetings cluttering the calendar, all the stops that need to be made, the errands that need to be made, the chores that need to be done. We can worry about how to accomplish so much in one day, what to make for dinner, what to wear that day, how to come up with the money to pay that one last bill this month. I often fall into this trap and stress myself out even more my feet hit the floor. It is a bad habit to get into, and while I try not to let my mind wander to my to-do list so early in the day, sometimes it just happens.


Waking to "Auld Lang Syne" brought a different feel to my day, a feeling of hope and possibility, the same as the feeling so many people experience when a new year begins. Why is it that we are so excited to ring in a new year, but don’t often greet a new day with the same sense of enthusiasm? A new day, in a way, might be an even bigger gift than a new year, a chance to undo the things that were not done right the day before, a chance to make different choices, to start a new to-do list, a chance to begin with a new attitude. Sometimes we don’t appreciate a new day the way we should, seeing it as just another step towards the weekend or another block of time filled with responsibilities and things we must accomplish, tasks to be done, people to please, et cetera.


My Opa is a very happy morning person, an individual who is perky and very much awake the moment hi feet hit the floor. I am not. The more I think about it, perhaps he is just embracing the beauty and promise of each day, seeing the opportunities it brings for new adventures, new quiet moments, to learn something new, to enjoy a new and yet another day with the ones he loves the most. He always jokes with me and says, “I checked the paper and my name wasn’t in the obituaries, so I got up.” It always makes me laugh and, given some thought, he has a point. Each day we are given a new chance to live, to our lives, even for just 24 what we want, what we will. We are free with each sunrise to make new decisions, to refocus, to reevaluate, to re-prioritize, to begin on new things, or revisit things or people left behind in haste yesterday. Seeing the possibility in a new day is like a little bit of new years excitement, given as a gift to each of us every morning. We should embrace it, whatever it may bring. The decisions belong to us each morning, the important decisions, like who to spend our time with, what deadlines are the most pressing, or what fabulous pair of shoes to wear today.


"Auld Lang Syne" was a random iTunes pick as my alarm this morning, but I think I may stick with it, just as a simple reminder to see each day as a new beginning, much like the new year.




Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?
And days of auld lang syne, my dear,
And days of auld lang syne.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?


We twa hae run aboot the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine.
We've wandered mony a weary foot,
Sin' auld lang syne.
Sin' auld lang syne, my dear,
Sin' auld lang syne,
We've wandered mony a weary foot,
Sin' auld ang syne.


We twa hae sported i' the burn,
From morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roared
Sin' auld lang syne.
Sin' auld lang syne, my dear,
Sin' auld lang syne.

But seas between us braid hae roared

Sin' auld lang syne.

And ther's a hand, my trusty friend,
And gie's a hand o' thine;
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.