What does it take to make a Happy New Year? Let’s broaden the question to what does it take to be happy? For music lovers, a holiday concert may make them happy. For sports fans, an afternoon of football games may make them happy. For folks who like to party, a drunken New Year’s Eve shindig may be the answer. If you’re old and tired, watching it all on TV may be the response to the holiday. How you celebrate tells a lot about who you are.
To me, the missing part in these celebrations is that any organized religious activity always is absent and silent. Do we need a gathering of thousands to generate any energy? It’s as those we’ve exhausted all our enthusiasm over Christmas, and that we have nothing else left to offer. Perhaps that is because religious leaders often have presented a sour, negative message of condemnation rather than joy.
That message doesn’t work now. Joy is more than an emotion or excitement. What if you’re not a WASP? In the Catholic tradition, the New Year is celebrated with hospitality and an open house in people’s homes. The Islamic New Year, or Hijri New Year, will be July 29th in 2022 because they use a different calendar. The Jewish Holiday Rosh Hashanah will be celebrated September 25th in 2022.
Do religious folks just show up on the weekends, and is that all we have to offer? What is the purpose of worship? What about the rest of the week? What happens outside of the church, mosque, or synagogue? Are the many mission projects and relief programs religious? Some Protestant churches now have “tables,” i.e., small groups of neighbors or special interest groups, who gather regularly to share a meal or a discussion. I’ve been a member of a Bible Study Group for 17 years, and we survived the pandemic via Zoom. Being part of a religious community is about more than resolving to become a better person or doing good works. It is sharing a common belief system that provides a purpose in life.
Inevitably the media focuses on New Year’s resolutions. After the holidays, we settle back down into the daily routine and promise to do better next year. Most often, the resolutions don’t even last a month because we don’t really want to change. Talking heads make predictions about the economy, the pandemic, politics, and the possibilities of more wars, disasters, and the climate crisis. Life is unpredictable, either from a world view or as an individual, so they’re just guessing.
My meditation this morning focused on death and dying, which seems like a grim subject. But the fact is, that is the only guarantee in life. It is inescapable, so we usually try not to think about it and pretend it doesn’t exist. We review the old year and hope for a better new year. A better response than empty resolutions would be to acknowledge that we only have a limited time on earth. So why not make the most of it and look for joy and peace EVERY day? We can develop an ATTITUDE of happiness or unhappiness that permeates our lives and directs our goals and attention. Which will it be for you?
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.