What a wonderful number, the number 12. First of all, it looks pretty. Straight, then curvy. A beautiful juxtaposition. Saying it aloud allows your whole mouth to be a part of the process -- First the tip of your tongue clacking against your front teeth to punctuate a "T," then the chin dips in a downward dive with pursed lips kissing the air to make a "W," your tongue has another exercise exploration in rounding out the beloved "L," and finally the famous move by Billy Crystal-aka-Harry in When Harry Met Sally "white-man overbite" to culminate the "V" of the word. Twelve. Say it, you'll see.
In addition to its tantilizing linguistic qualities, the number 12 represents a combination of other special characteristics, with its multipliers and divisors that I observe in my everyday life. I am from a family of 6, 1 of 4 daughters - though now I consider the other 2 female in-laws in my life to make it 6 girls between my families. There were 3 black pups romping around the Christmas clatter in Maine this year; there are 3 of us thus far in my own family with Mike and Windsor reigning in the new year with me. We had 2 guests visit us on the early eve of New Year's this past Saturday as Mike's sister and beau in tow went out of their way to see us and drop by with some good laughs and cheer. Subsequently, we had 6 friends join us for the Dick Clark special, some sparkling wine, and board games (of course). And at the stroke of 12 we welcomed in this new year of '12, sealed with a kiss or 2. We may not have been singing "Auld Lang Syne" (12 letters long), or continuing to chug champagne, but the mystical feeling that a new year had begun certainly made its way to my heart.
Some approach these new Januarys year-to-year with a fear -- a fear that whatever wasn't accomplished in the days before will haunt them in the months ahead. I suppose that is where resolutions first came from, the fear that we had to "be better" than before, and that it was appropriate when the calendars begin again to fully commit ourselves to goals that we probably could have been working towards all along. The Mayans suspect that this year, 2012, during the 12th month, on the 21st day (backwards 12), that the world is going to end. Do resolutions need to count more than ever if our time is less and less this year around?
I don't know that resolutions ought to be kept sacred for one time of the year. As I have come to know, we are in fact vehicles of our own successes, and the goals worth fighting for are usually the outcomes we meet with pleasure. Similarly, if we leave our fate up to the Mayans, or anyone else in our life that we believe decides our destiny, then we often greet such outcome with disappointment. Whether you encounter a horrible day or this year the world in fact does end, the legacy we leave behind should at least be composed of personal convictions of self-worth and growth, and not the murmurs of what others think of or for us.
Take 2012 on with gusto - as you should each coming year. Work hard and play harder. Spend time with friends and ignore those who bring you down. Do work with those who challenge you - but don't allow room for negativity to cloud the fact that you are trying your best for the kind of success you seek. We do not all search for the same results in our lives, and so our standards must be individualized; otherwise I could say "I should have/should be/should do" until it's 12 o'clock at night again and then repeat it begrudingly when I wake. My goals this year are to continue those from years' past and build up my life the way I have always envisioned: continue schooling (in and outside of the classroom), create a home whereever Mike and I are living, expand our family (in joy and perhaps little children beings), and appreciate the earth that supports us -- for however longs she chooses to do so.
Happy New Year, and health and wealth to all in each facet of life!!
