By A difficult year for all is about to finish and the new year brings us hope that this coming 2021 will be better. We will receive thousands of messages wishing us a happy new year. And maybe this time they will be really meaningful.
January 1st is a magic day. It is the most popular day to quit smoking, to start a diet, to learn a new language… A new page in the calendar is a motivation and many think is the perfect date for a start. Sadly, January 1st resolutions do not always last long.
Some years ago there was a powder commercial where children were explaining to their mothers what happened with their clothes and why they were dirty. The arguments they gave were really charming. Some were saving the world, others fighting dragons, others defending a friend. Surprisingly, at the end of the sketch they all promised their mothers that they will do it again! The commercial created some controversy but I don’t share it. I think that it is a life lesson. Kids are supposed to play and therefore get dirty. Of course it is also necessary to explain to our children without being angry that they need to be careful with their clothes. What they learn while they play is more important than the number of times we need to do the laundry.
Homemakers are experts on beginnings. Everyday we have to start over again, the house gets dirty, our family needs to be fed, the clothes we cleaned yesterday are waiting for cleaning again… I feel sorry for the homemakers that get frustrated with what they see as a never-ending cycle. We are taking care of our families covering their most basic needs and that is something really momentous. For those children, as we stand in our kitchen, we are also saving the world and fighting dragons!
The power of example is sometimes underestimated. Have you ever thought about the powerful message we send with our work? At home we learn that there is always a way to try to do it again. It doesn’t matter how many times we need to start over again, the important thing is to try it again, to love again. And as we do this we do not need to explain it with words. Our deeds speak louder. Because we start again no matter the date: January 1st or July 3rd. A new day is a beautiful challenge ahead of us, a new page we can write and new verses we can add to the poem of our life. The coronavirus has put aside our own problems and is showing us what is really important. Many things are being put in place from one day to another, so we are constantly adapting and restarting!
Marian Rojas, a famous Spanish psychiatrist defines happiness as “the healthy way to connect to the present having overcome wounds in the past and looking to the future positively”. It is also a good definition for beginnings and an interesting attitude for this coming year.
We learn happiness at home where we see that everyday we can start again. We mindfully set ourselves in the present, with the experience learnt from the past, and ready to innovate a future that starts today. We make every day new!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for all of you, and wishing you the best of the beginnings!
Poetry, Home & Innovation 