January 16, 2010

On December 12, 2011, I wrote “What’s The Big Deal.”  While I don’t understand why New Year’s Eve is such a big deal, I’ve always appreciated the magic of wishing others well.  Every year at Christmas, Chanukah, and New Year’s, people find joy and happiness in wishing others a “happy and healthy New Year.”  On the third of January, everyone goes back to their hurried lives and the kindness and joy of the season evaporates.  The other New Year’s phenomenon, the New Year’s resolution, takes two weeks longer to fade away than the season’s goodwill!

Why can’t we manage to keep the season’s spirit and happiness throughout the year?  If we could identify the essence of the holiday season and use it liberally throughout our lives, wouldn’t we all be happier?  In looking for the key to daily happiness, I have started wishing people a “Happy and Healthy New Day!”

It’s working!  The essence of the Christmas/Chanukah/New Year’s miracle is the giving spirit!  Wishing people well is the key.  In essence, wishing someone a “Happy and Healthy New Day” confers a blessing on them!  In doing so, the person conferring the blessing gives the gift of a smile to the person receiving the gift.  Might this simple salutation perpetuate the joy of the holiday season?  I think so!

As to the matter of the “New Year’s resolution” that is so easily forgotten year after year, a New Day resolution has a real chance of being accomplished.  In November, I published “Tomorrow.”   Many of us spend our lives living for and planning tomorrow.  We put off doing today, promising ourselves that we will get it done tomorrow.  Does tomorrow really exist?  If we have a “New Day Resolution” every day, and when we wake up it is “Today,” then we should be able to stay resolved and finish what we promised to do.

So, each and every day, wish someone a “Happy and Healthy New Day.”  Start your new day with a “New Day Resolution” to be happier and “Wellthier.”   If you like this idea, first try it out and then share it with everyone you meet.